Method and System for Annotating Graphs of Vehicle Data

ABSTRACT

An example method includes receiving, at a computing system, a first user input from a user interface during operation of a vehicle and responsive to receiving the first user input, determining a time of reception for the first user input. The method further includes receiving a first set of parameters from the vehicle that correspond to a first parameter identifier (PID). The method also includes determining a time of reception for each parameter, and based on the time of reception for the first user input and the time of reception for each parameter of the first set of parameters, determining a first temporal position for an indicator configured to represent the first user input on a graph of the parameters corresponding to the first PID. The method further includes displaying, on a display interface, the graph of the parameters corresponding to the first PID with the indicator in the first temporal position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/171,927, filed on Oct. 26, 2018, the contents of which isentirely incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Most vehicles are serviced at least once during their useful life. Inmany instances, a vehicle is serviced at a facility with professionalmechanics (e.g., technicians), though in other instances, techniciansand/or other individuals who are servicing the vehicle can do so atother locations, such as on a shoulder of a city street or highway. Atechnician may refer to a repair order including symptom data regardinga vehicle condition (e.g., a perceived malfunction) described by avehicle owner. In some cases, the repair order is a paper repair order.In other cases, the symptom data of a repair order can be displayed by adisplay of a computing system.

A technician and/or other individual (hereafter, a user) can use any ofa variety of computerized tools and/or non-computerized tools to service(e.g., repair) any of the wide variety of mechanical and/or electronicvehicle components on a vehicle. While servicing a vehicle, a usersometimes needs information for diagnosing and/or repairing the vehicle,and for post-repair activities performed to the repaired vehicle. Forexample, the user may use a computing system that obtains and displaysparameter identifier (PID) parameters from the vehicle under service.

A computing system configured to display PID parameters typicallyincludes a menu with several layers that a user must navigate to be ableto display the PID parameters. For example, a computing system mayrequire the user to enter a vehicle year on an initial menu layer, avehicle make on another menu layer, a vehicle model on another menulayer, an engine identifier on another menu layer, a vehicle system onanother menu layer, and a vehicle communication function, such as selectPID, on yet another menu layer. In the event the computing systemincludes an option to display the repair order, the user may need tonavigate back to the initial menu layer to be able to access an optionto display the repair order on a display of the computing system or atleast one subsequent menu to access that display option.

After navigating through menus to be able to display PID parameters froma vehicle, a user may drive the vehicle. In many instances, the userdrives the vehicle alone. In order to safely drive the vehicle, a useris typically encouraged to keep his or her eyes on the road andenvironmental outside of and proximate to the vehicle instead of lookingat a computing system that displays PID parameters. During the testdrive, the user might notice undesirable operation by one or multiplesystems of the vehicle. As such, there exists a need for a user to beable to mark moments during operation where the vehicle performedundesirably with respect to PID parameters captured by a computingsystem and to have the ability to return to these moments at asubsequent time and review operation of various systems of the vehicleduring the same time frame. A computing system with an improved userinterface for displaying PID parameters and reviewing operation ofvarious systems is desirable.

Overview

Several example embodiments relate to annotating graphs of vehicle datawith one or more inputs. During operation of a vehicle, a user operatingthe vehicle, or a passenger on or in the vehicle, might wish to markparticular moments when the vehicle is operating undesirably forsubsequent review. In addition, it would be advantageous to enable theuser to also provide additional commentary that describes context foreach moment marked for subsequent review. Techniques presented hereincan enable a user to provide user inputs, including comments, via a userinterface of a computing system that can mark particular times duringoperation of a vehicle. Particularly, the computing system can thenpreserve inputs and context received from the user or other sources forlater review.

The computing system may also determine and associate a time with eachinput received. In some instances, the time associated with an input mayrepresent the time that the computing system received the input from thesource, also described herein as a time of reception. In otherinstances, the time associated with the input may represent the timethat the source obtained the input. For example, the time may specifywhen a sensor captured measurements of a system of the vehicle. Infurther examples, the computing system may associate a time range overwhich a source providing the input acquired the input.

In addition to receiving inputs from sources, the computing system canfurther obtain vehicle data parameters (VDP) that correspond to one ormore associated parameter identifiers (PIDs) values from the vehicle andsubsequently display graphs and other information that includeindicators representative of the VDP. The graphs may also include otherindicators, such as indicators, each of which represents an inputreceived from a source (e.g., a sensor, a user interface). The variousindicators may be displayed on one or more graphs in a temporal orderthat accurately reflects when the inputs and VDP occurred duringoperation of the vehicle. These VDP indicators as well as the indicatorsrepresenting inputs are selectable enabling a user to view additionalinformation upon selection of a given indicator. For example, a user mayselect an indicator that represents one or more images captured during atime range by a camera positioned within and/or on the vehicle. As aresult of the selection, the computing system may cause the images todisplay for user review.

Within example implementations, the computing system may communicatewith various sensors or other sources configured to measure aspects ofvehicle systems during operation. Example sensors can includemicrophone(s), camera(s), thermal camera(s), and/or other types ofsensors. In some cases, a sensor may begin capturing sensor data about avehicle system upon being triggered by another source (e.g., the user,another sensor, the computing system). The different sensors and sourcesused may be part of the vehicle or physically separate and positioned bythe user to obtain information during a test drive of the vehicle.

Viewed from one aspect, an example embodiment takes the form of a methodcomprising receiving, at a computing system, a first input from a firstsource during operation of a vehicle, and responsive to receiving thefirst input, determining a time of reception for the first input. Themethod may additionally include receiving, at the computing system, afirst set of parameters from the vehicle, wherein the first set ofparameters correspond to a first parameter identifier (PID), andresponsive to receiving the first set of parameters, determining a timeof reception for each parameter of the first set of parameters. Themethod may further include, based on the time of reception for the firstinput and the time of reception for each parameter of the first set ofparameters, determining, by the computing system, a first temporalposition for a first indicator configured to represent the first inputon a graph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the firstPID, and displaying, by the computing system on a display interface, thegraph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID withthe first indicator in the first temporal position.

Viewed from another aspect, an example embodiment takes the form of asystem comprising a display interface, one or more processors, anon-transitory computer readable medium, and program instructions storedon the non-transitory computer readable medium. The program instructionsmay be executable by the one or more processors to receive a first inputfrom a first source during operation of a vehicle, and responsive toreceiving the first input, determine a time of reception for the firstinput. The program instructions may be further executable by the one ormore processors to receive a first set of parameters from the vehicle,wherein the first set of parameters correspond to a first parameteridentifier (PID), and responsive to receiving the first set ofparameters, determine a time of reception for each parameter of thefirst set of parameters. The program instructions may also be executableby the one or more processors to, based on the time of reception for thefirst input and the time of reception for each parameter of the firstset of parameters, determine a first temporal position for a firstindicator configured to represent the first input on a graph of thefirst set of parameters corresponding to the first PID. The programinstructions may further be executable by the one or more processors todisplay, on a display interface, the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID with the first indicator inthe first temporal position.

Viewed from yet another aspect, an example embodiment takes the form ofa non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereininstructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computingsystem to perform functions. The functions include receiving a firstinput from a first source during operation of a vehicle, and responsiveto receiving the first input, determining a time of reception for thefirst input. The functions may also include receiving a first set ofparameters from the vehicle, wherein the first set of parameterscorrespond to a first parameter identifier (PID), and responsive toreceiving the first set of parameters, determining a time of receptionfor each parameter of the first set of parameters. The functions mayalso include, based on the time of reception for the first input and thetime of reception for each parameter of the first set of parameters,determining a first temporal position for an indicator configured torepresent the first input on a graph of the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID. The functions may also includedisplaying, on a display interface, the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID with the indicator in thefirst temporal position.

Viewed from another aspect, an example embodiment takes the form of amethod comprising receiving, at a computing system from a first sourceoperatively connected to the computing system, a first input captured bythe first source during operation of a vehicle, wherein the first inputcorresponds to a particular system of the vehicle and responsive toreceiving the first input, determining a first time range for the firstinput. The method additionally includes receiving, at the computingsystem from a second source operatively connected to the computingsystem, a second input captured by the second source during operation ofthe vehicle, wherein the second input corresponds to the particularsystem of the vehicle, and wherein the second source differs from thefirst source. The method includes responsive to receiving the secondinput, determining a second time range for the second input andreceiving, at the computing system, a first set of parameters from thevehicle, wherein the first set of parameters correspond to a firstparameter identifier (PID) associated with operation of the particularsystem of the vehicle during a third time range, and wherein the thirdtime range comprises the first time range and the second time range. Themethod also includes determining a graph representing the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID associated with operation ofthe particular system of the vehicle during the third time range and aset of indicators, wherein the set of indicators includes a firstindicator that represents at least a portion of the first time range ofthe first input and a second indicator that represents at least aportion of the second time range of the second input. The methodincludes displaying, by the computing system on a display interface, thegraph representing the first set of parameters corresponding to thefirst PID with the set of indicators.

Viewed from a further aspect, an example embodiment takes the form of asystem. The system comprises a display interface and a computing system.The computing system is configured to receive, from a first sourceoperatively connected to the computing system, a first input captured bythe first source during operation of a vehicle, wherein the first inputcorresponds to a particular system of the vehicle. The computing systemis further configured to determine a first time range for the firstinput responsive to receiving the first input and receive, from a secondsource operatively connected to the computing system, a second inputcaptured by the second source during operation of the vehicle, whereinthe second input corresponds to the particular system of the vehicle,and wherein the second source differs from the first source. Thecomputing system is also configured to determine a second time range forthe second input responsive to receiving the second input and receive afirst set of parameters from the vehicle, wherein the first set ofparameters correspond to a first parameter identifier (PID) associatedwith operation of the particular system of the vehicle during a thirdtime range, and wherein the third time range comprises the first timerange and the second time range. The computing system is also configuredto determine a graph representing the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID associated with operation of theparticular system of the vehicle during the third time range and a setof indicators, wherein the set of indicators includes a first indicatorthat represents at least a portion of the first time range of the firstinput and a second indicator that represents at least a portion of thesecond time range of the second input. The computing system is furtherconfigured to display, on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator and the second indicator.

Viewed from yet another aspect, an example embodiment takes the form ofa non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereininstructions executable by one or more processors to cause a computingsystem to perform functions. The functions include receiving, from afirst source, a first input captured by the first source duringoperation of a vehicle, wherein the first input corresponds to aparticular system of the vehicle. The functions also include, responsiveto receiving the first input, determining a first time range for thefirst input and receiving, from a second source, a second input capturedby the second source during operation of the vehicle, wherein the secondinput corresponds to the particular system of the vehicle, and whereinthe second source differs from the first source. The functions alsoinclude, responsive to receiving the second input, determining a secondtime range for the second input, and receiving a first set of parametersfrom the vehicle, wherein the first set of parameters correspond to afirst parameter identifier (PID) associated with operation of theparticular system of the vehicle during a third time range, and whereinthe third time range comprises the first time range and the second timerange. The functions also include determining a graph representing thefirst set of parameters corresponding to the first PID associated withoperation of the particular system of the vehicle during the third timerange and a set of indicators, wherein the set of indicators includes afirst indicator that represents at least a portion of the first timerange of the first input and a second indicator that represents at leasta portion of the second time range of the second input. The functionsfurther include displaying, on a display interface, the graph of thefirst set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator and the second indicator.

These as well as other aspects and advantages will become apparent tothose of ordinary skill in the art by reading the following detaileddescription, with reference where appropriate to the accompanyingdrawings. Further, it should be understood that the embodimentsdescribed in this overview and elsewhere are intended to be examplesonly and do not necessarily limit the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example operating environment in whichthe example embodiments can operate.

FIG. 2 is a communication flow diagram.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a vehicle showing example placement of acomputing system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example computing system.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an example VST with a display in accordance withthe example embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example server.

FIG. 7 shows an example PID index.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example display presentation.

FIG. 9 is a diagram depicting another example display presentation.

FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting multiple example display presentations.

FIG. 11 is another diagram depicting an example display presentation.

FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting another example display presentation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting a set of functions that can be carriedout in accordance with the example embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a diagram depicting an example display presentation.

FIG. 15 is a diagram of another example display presentation.

FIG. 16 is a diagram of a further example display presentation.

FIG. 17 is a table depicting example data pertaining to test driving avehicle.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of a further example display presentation.

FIG. 19 is a diagram depicting another example display presentation.

FIG. 20 is a diagram depicting a further example display presentation.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart depicting a set of functions that can be carriedout in accordance with the example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Introduction

This description describes several example embodiments including, butnot limited to, example embodiments that pertain to annotating graphs ofvehicle data with multiple inputs. When preparing to service a vehicle,a user may often drive the vehicle to gain an overall understanding ofthe current conditions of the vehicle. A test drive can enable a userand other sensors to measure operations in real-time as the vehiclenavigates a path of travel. During the test drive, a computing systemcan receive inputs from the user and other sources, such as sensors,passengers of the vehicle, and other sources. The computing system canthen annotate graphs and other visuals using the inputs received fromthe different sources for the user or a technician to analyze whensubsequently working on the vehicle.

Example embodiments herein relate to techniques for annotating graphs ofvehicle data with multiple inputs. During operation of a vehicle, acomputing system configured to annotate graphs of vehicle data canreceive inputs from various sources, such as user interfaces, sensors,and other computing systems. For example, the computing system mayenable a user to mark moments during operation of the vehicle andprovide context with each marked moment for subsequent review. Thecomputing system may also receive inputs from other sources, such asvehicle sensors or external sensors configured to measure aspects of oneor more systems of the vehicle during operation. As such, during a testdrive of the vehicle, the computing system may receive one or numerousinputs from one or more sources that the user wishes to reviewsubsequent to the test drive.

Upon receiving an input from a source, the computing system mayassociate a time with that input. For example, the computing system mayassociate a time that the input was received from the source. The timethat the input was received at the computing system may be referredherein as a time of reception. In some examples, the time of receptionmay also represent the particular time that the input was captured orobtained by the source. For instance, the time of reception may specifywhen a camera captured an image or when a sensor measured a level ofoperation of a system of the vehicle.

In further examples, the computing system may determine a time range foran input received from a source. Particularly, the time range mayrepresent the duration over which the source captured the input. Forexample, the computing system may determine a time range over which aseries of images were captured by a camera. In another example, the timerange may represent the duration over which a microphone captured audiofrom the user or a system of the vehicle. The computing system can alsodetermine a time of reception (or in other words, a reception time) foreach parameter in the VDP obtained from the vehicle. As such, the timerange may vary in duration for each input.

To illustrate an example embodiment, a computing system may receiveinputs from different sources during operation of a vehicle. Forinstance, a user operating the vehicle might want to mark moments wherethe vehicle operated undesirably during a test drive, such as aparticular time when the engine of the vehicle stalled. The computingsystem may enable the user to mark moments and provide additionalcontext that the computing system will store with an associated timestamp (e.g., a time of reception or a time range) for subsequent review.The computing system may receive inputs that originate from a user oranother passenger via various types of input interfaces, such asmicrophones, tactile buttons, graphical user interfaces, cameras, etc.The computing system may also receive inputs from other sources, such assensors configured to measure operation of particular systems of thevehicle. Similar to user inputs, the computing system may also associatetimes (e.g., a time of reception or a time range) for each inputreceived from other sources. The computing system may also obtain VDPrelated to PIDs and other vehicle information from the vehicle. The VDPmay correspond to one or multiple PIDs and can represent operation ofvarious systems of the vehicle during the prior operation of thevehicle.

In some embodiments, a source may capture an input in response toanother source capturing an input. For example, a sensor may capturesensor data or modify operation in response to a triggering event, suchas a signal from another sensor, a signal originating from an input fromthe user at the computing system, a signal from the computing systemreceiving the inputs, etc.

Upon receiving inputs from various sources (e.g., the user, sensors, thevehicle), the computing system may arrange the inputs for analysis bythe user (or other people), by the computing system itself, or anothercomputing system. Particularly, the computing system may arrangeinformation contained within the inputs for clear and concise review.

In some examples, the computing system may arrange the inputs in atemporal order for subsequent analysis. The computing system maydetermine and display the information within one or more graphs viewableon displays. For example, the computing system may determine a graphrepresenting parameters corresponding to a PID. In some examples, thecomputing system may determine multiple graphs or arrange information inother ways using inputs received from one or more sources. Various typesof graphs could be displayed by the computing system, including linegraphs, bar graphs, frequency distributions, histograms, etc.

When determining a graph based on inputs received from the vehicle(e.g., VDP related to a PID) or other sources, the computing system mayfurther determine indicators displayable on the graph. Particularly, anindicator may represent an input received from a source. For instance, afirst indicator may represent a user input received from a graphicaluser interface and a second indicator may represent a sensor data inputreceived from a sensor. As such, the computing system may displayindicators representing inputs on one or more graphs. For example,

The computing system may display the indicators on a graph based on atemporal order determined using time associated with each indicator. Forexample, on a graph representing a set of parameters corresponding to aPID, the computing system may include a set of indicators arranged in aparticular temporal order. The particular temporal order may depend onwhen each input was received at the computing system, when each inputwas received by the respective source capturing the input, time rangesover which inputs were captured by sources, or a combination of timeassociations with each input. By displaying the indicators in a temporalorder, the computing system can convey to the user reviewing the graphthe order that each input relates temporally to vehicle parameters andother inputs.

In some embodiments, the indicators may be selectable by a user oranother person reviewing the information obtained during operation ofthe vehicle. When an indicator is selected, the computing system maydisplay information represented by the indicator. For example, when anindicator representing an input from a camera is selected, the computingsystem may display one or more images represented by the indicator inresponse. Displaying indicators representing received user inputs ongraphs corresponding to PIDs can allow the user to view and/or reviewthe operating conditions of the vehicle systems during the moments whenthe user initially provided each user input during operation of thevehicle.

In further examples, the computing system may further display a graphview slider and symbols that enable the user to adjust graphs beingdisplayed, such as the period of time displayed by the graphs as well asselect symbols to view information related to that symbol. For instance,each user input may have a corresponding, selectable symbol that thecomputing system may display on the display interface. Upon selection ofa given symbol, the computing system can further display informationrelated to that user input and operation of vehicle systems thatcorrespond to the same time frame as the user input, including a timeand date when the user input was initially received and recorded at thecomputing system.

In addition, the computing system may also provide other options fordisplaying vehicle information and user inputs. For instance, thecomputing system may include filtering options that enable the user tomodify the vehicle information and user inputs displayed by thecomputing system. Some example filtering options may include an optionto display only user inputs such that the user can clearly and quicklyfind and identify inputs that he or she provided during operation of thevehicle. Other techniques of filtering and customizing displayingvehicle information and user inputs corresponding to the prior operationof the vehicle are possible within examples. For instance, the computingsystem can enable a user to provide a variety of annotations (e.g., addtext, markings, etc.) to graphs and other displays of vehicle operationmeasurements and inputs. The customization enabled by the computingsystem can allow a user to resize graphics, move around visuals in asingle or multiple visual formats on a graphical interface, and provideinputs that assist the user understand and analyze the operations of thevehicle.

In some example embodiments, the computing system may further providedetails along with marking a moment of time via a user input duringoperation of a vehicle. For instance, the computing system may captureand record a vocal input from the user during operation of the vehicle.The vocal input from the user can specify a variety of informationregarding operation of the vehicle, including things that the user maynotice or feel at that particular time of operation. For instance,example vocal inputs may specify when the engine of the vehicle stalls,driving conditions that may be causing problems for the vehicle (e.g.,the vehicle is struggling to operate uphill or downhill smoothly), andweather conditions, among other information that can assist the userduring future servicing of the vehicle.

In some embodiments the computing system may also determinecorresponding text representing the vocal input using speech recognitionand subsequently store the text in memory for the user to review alongwith graphs representing the various operations of vehicle systemsduring the same times as the user inputs. For example, the textrepresenting the vocal input or the vocal input in general may berepresented as a selectable indicator on one or multiple VDP graphs thatcorrespond to the test drive of the vehicle. When the selectableindicator is selected by the user, the computing system may enable theuser to listen to the vocal input as originally recorded by thecomputing system and/or display the text in an editable popup box thatmay further allow the user to edit the text or add further commentaryregarding the original vocal input.

In additional embodiments, the computing system can further communicatewith other devices (e.g., sensors) configured to capture informationrelated to operation of systems of the vehicle. For instance, thecomputing system may communicate with a camera or camera system that canmonitor gauges, other operations of the vehicle, or the road of travelof the vehicle. As a result, when the computing system receives a userinput from the user during operation of the vehicle, the computingsystem may further trigger the camera to record a current state of thegauges or other information representative of one or multiple systems ofthe vehicle. The computing system may subsequently enable the user toaccess the images or video captured by the camera when the user opts toreview the associated user input. This way, the user may obtain furtherinformation about operations of the vehicle during the duration that theuser provided the user input. For example, the user may review thecurrent path of travel of the vehicle during the moments marked by userinputs. In other examples, the computing system may communicate withother devices, such as various types of sensors (e.g., microphones,thermal sensor).

In some embodiments, the computing system can communicate with one ormore external cameras. For example, a camera can be positioned insidethe vehicle to monitor reactions of the driver. The camera can operatein sync with a microphone system that also captures audio from thecamera. As such, the computing system can receive images or video aswell as audio representing actions of the user during a test drive ofthe vehicle.

In further embodiments, devices configured to capture informationrelated to operation of one or more systems of the vehicle can operateas a system through communication. For example, a thermal camera oranother type of camera could be positioned nearby a microphone systempositioned in the vehicle. The microphone system may include one or moremicrophones, which may include an omni-directional microphone. As such,the microphone system could detect sound emanating from a particulardirection and cause the camera to capture measurements of the particulardirection. In some instances, the camera may be mounted on aself-adjusting mount that enables the camera to turn and focus on acomponent located in the particular direction.

In some embodiments, the computing system can associate incoming inputswith one or multiple timers that can indicate when the inputs arecaptured or received at the computing system. Further, the computingsystem can also associate incoming inputs with a current position and/ororientation of the vehicle during the test drive. In particular, thecomputing system can receive inputs and associate the inputs withmeasurements provided by a global positioning system (GPS) and/ormeasurements from an inertial measurement unit (IMU). As such, thecomputing system can further supplement received inputs with a generalposition and orientation of the vehicle during the path of travel. Thisway, the computing system can also generate and display a path of travelin a map or another format via a graphical interface that enables theuser to view inputs captured during a particular portion of the route.

II. Example Systems

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example operating environment 1 in whichthe example embodiments can operate. As shown, the operating environment1 includes a computing system 2, a server 4, a communication network 6,a vehicle 8, and communication links 9, 10, 11, 12, but may include moreor fewer elements within other example embodiments.

The computing system 2 can take various forms, such as a specialtycomputing system specifically configured in whole or in part for thepurpose of servicing vehicles (e.g., the vehicle 8). In some instances,a specialty computing system can include unique elements forfacilitating servicing of vehicles or can otherwise be uniquelyconfigured in such a way that distinguishes the specialty computing fromanother type of computing system. In some examples, a specialtycomputing system can be configured to perform various functionsassociated with servicing vehicles, can include communication interfaceswith other systems/servers/networks associated with servicing vehicles,and can be configured to send and receive data over those interfaces inaccordance with one or more protocols associated with servicingvehicles. Alternatively, in some examples, the computing system 2 can bea general purpose, non-specialty computing system, such as a generalpurpose smart phone, desktop computer, laptop computer, or the like. Asa general matter, the computing system 2—specialty or generalpurpose—can take the form of a hand-held device, laptop computer,desktop computer, and/or another type of device.

The operating environment 1 further includes the server 4 connected tothe computing system 2 via the communication network 6. As such, theserver 4 can take various forms as well, such as a specialty serverspecifically/uniquely configured for the purpose of servicing vehicles,or a general-purpose server. In some examples, the server 4 can bescaled so as to be able to serve any number of devices, such as onecomputing system (as shown in FIG. 1), one hundred computing systems,one thousand computing systems, or some other number of computingsystems.

The communication network 6 can include the communication links 9, 10,11, 12 as well as other communication links (not shown in FIG. 1). Thecommunication network 6 and the communication links 9, 10, 11, 12 caninclude various network elements such as switches, modems, gateways,antennas, cables, transmitters, and receivers. The communication network6 can comprise a wide area network (WAN) that can carry data usingpacket-switched and/or circuit-switched technologies. The WAN caninclude an air interface and/or wire to carry the data. Thecommunication network 6 can comprise a network or at least a portion ofa network that carries out communications using a Transmission ControlProtocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP), such as the communicationnetwork commonly referred to as the Internet. Additionally oralternatively, the communication network can comprise a local areanetwork (LAN), private or otherwise.

The operating environment 1 further includes the vehicle 8 shown incommunication with the computing system 2 and the communication network6. A vehicle, such as vehicle 8, is a mobile machine that can be used totransport a person, people, and/or cargo. As an example, any vehicledescribed herein can be driven and/or otherwise guided along a path(e.g., a paved road or otherwise) on land, in water, in the air, and/orouter space. As another example, any vehicle described herein can bewheeled, tracked, railed, and/or skied. As yet another example, anyvehicle described herein can include an automobile, a motorcycle, anall-terrain vehicle (ATV) defined by ANSI/SVIA-1-2007, a snowmobile, apersonal watercraft (e.g., a JET SKI® personal watercraft), a light-dutytruck, a medium-duty truck, a heavy-duty truck, a semi-tractor, and/or afarm machine.

As an example embodiment, the vehicle 8 can be guided along a path andcan include a van (such as a dry or refrigerated van), a tank trailer, aplatform trailer, or an automobile carrier. As still yet anotherexample, any vehicle discussed herein can include or use any appropriatevoltage or current source, such as a battery, an alternator, a fuelcell, and the like, providing any appropriate current or voltage, suchas about 12 volts, about 42 volts, and the like. As still yet anotherexample, any vehicle discussed herein can include or use any desiredsystem or engine. Those systems or engines can include items that usefossil fuels, such as gasoline, natural gas, propane, and the like,electricity, such as that generated by a battery, magneto, fuel cell,solar cell and the like, wind and hybrids or combinations thereof. Asstill yet another example, any vehicle discussed herein can include anelectronic control unit (ECU), a data link connector (DLC), and avehicle communication link that connects the DLC to the ECU.

A vehicle manufacturer can build various quantities of vehicles eachcalendar year (i.e., January 1^(st) to December 31^(st)). In someinstances, a vehicle manufacturer defines a model year for a particularvehicle model to be built. The model year can start on a date other thanJanuary 1^(st) and/or can end on a date other than December 31^(st). Themodel year can span portions of two calendar years. A vehiclemanufacturer can build one vehicle model or multiple different vehiclemodels. Two or more different vehicle models built by a vehiclemanufacturer during a particular calendar year can have the same ofdifferent defined model years. The vehicle manufacturer can buildvehicles of a particular vehicle model with different vehicle options.For example, the particular vehicle model can include vehicles withsix-cylinder engines and vehicles with eight-cylinder engines. Thevehicle manufacturer or another entity can define vehicle identifyinginformation for each vehicle built by the vehicle manufacturer.Particular vehicle identifying information identifies particular sets ofvehicles (e.g., all vehicles of a particular vehicle model for aparticular vehicle model year or all vehicles of a particular vehiclemodel for a particular vehicle model year with a particular set of oneor more vehicle options).

As an example, the particular vehicle identifying information cancomprise indicators of characteristics of the vehicle such as when thevehicle was built (e.g., a vehicle model year), who built the vehicle(e.g., a vehicle make (i.e., vehicle manufacturer)), marketing namesassociated with vehicle (e.g., a vehicle model name, or more simply“model”), and features of the vehicle (e.g., an engine type). Inaccordance with that example, the particular vehicle identifyinginformation can be referred to by an abbreviation YMME or Y/M/M/E, whereeach letter in the order shown represents a model year identifier,vehicle make identifier, vehicle model name identifier, and engine typeidentifier, respectively, or an abbreviation YMM or Y/M/M, where eachletter in the order shown represents a model year identifier, vehiclemake identifier, and vehicle model name identifier, respectively. Anexample Y/M/M/E is 2004/Toyota/Camry/4Cyl, in which “2004” representsthe model year the vehicle was built, “Toyota” represents the name ofthe vehicle manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation, Aichi Japan, “Camry”represents a vehicle model built by that manufacturer, and “4Cyl”represents a an engine type (e.g., a four cylinder internal combustionengine) within the vehicle. A person skilled in the art will understandthat other features in addition to or as an alternative to “engine type”can be used to identify a vehicle using particular vehicle identifyinginformation. These other features can be identified in various manners,such as a regular production option (RPO) code, such as the RPO codesdefined by the General Motors Company LLC, Detroit Mich.

A vehicle communication link within a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle 8) caninclude one or more conductors (e.g., copper wire conductors) or can bewireless. As an example, a vehicle communication link can include one ortwo conductors for carrying vehicle data messages in accordance with avehicle data message (VDM) protocol. A VDM protocol can include aSociety of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J1850 (PWM or VPW) VDM protocol,an International Organization of Standardization (ISO) 15764-4controller area network (CAN) VDM protocol, an ISO 9141-2 K-Line VDMprotocol, an ISO 14230-4 KWP2000 K-Line VDM protocol, or some otherprotocol presently defined for performing communications within avehicle. The computing system 2 or another computing system can includea vehicle communication transceiver 25 connectable to a vehiclecommunication link and a processor to transmit and receive vehiclecommunications via the vehicle communication link.

As indicated above, any vehicle described herein can include anelectronic control unit (ECU), a data link connector (DLC), and avehicle communication link that connects the DLC to the ECU. An ECU cancontrol various aspects of vehicle operation or components within avehicle. For example, the ECU can include a powertrain (PT) system ECU,an engine control module (ECM) ECU, a supplemental inflatable restraint(SIR) system (e.g., an air bag system) ECU, an entertainment system ECU,or some other ECU. The ECU can receive inputs (e.g., a sensor input),control output devices (e.g., a solenoid), generate a vehicle datamessage (VDM) (such as a VDM based on a received input or a controlledoutput), and set a diagnostic trouble code (DTC) as being active orhistory for a detected fault or failure condition within a vehicle.Performance of a functional test can or a reset procedure with respectto an ECU can comprise the computing system 2 transmitting a VDM to avehicle. A VDM received by an ECU can comprise a PID request. A VDMtransmitted by an ECU can comprise a response comprising the PID and aPID data value for the PID.

The DLC can include an on-board diagnostic (OBD) II connector. An OBD IIconnector can include slots for retaining up to sixteen connectorterminals, but can include a different number of slots or no slots atall. As an example, a DLC connector can include an OBD II connector thatmeets the SAE J1962 specification such as a connector 16M, part number12110252, available from Delphi Automotive LLP of Troy, Mich. The DLCcan include conductor terminals that connect to a conductor in avehicle. For instance, the DLC can include connector terminals thatconnect to conductors that respectively connect to positive and negativeterminals of a vehicle battery. The DLC can include one or moreconductor terminals that connect to a conductor of the vehiclecommunication link such that the DLC is communicatively connected to theECU.

The computing system 2 and/or the vehicle 8 can be located at the samelocation as one another or remotely from one another at separate,distinct locations. For example, both the computing system 2 and thevehicle 8 can be located at a repair shop. As another example, both thecomputing system 2 and the vehicle 8 can be located out on the road. Asyet another example, the computing system 2 can be located at a repairshop and the vehicle 8 can be located out on the road. One or more ofthese locations can also include various computerized shop tools (CSTs)and/or non-computerized shop tools, such as a battery charger, torquewrench, brake lathe, fuel pressure gauge, wheel balancer, etc. Further,one or more of the shop tools and/or the computing system 2 can beoperable outside of a repair shop. For example, the computing system 2can be operable within the vehicle 8 as the vehicle 8 is driven on roadsoutside of the repair shop for any of a variety of purposes.

The vehicle 8 can transmit various data to the computing system 2, suchas OBD data (e.g., diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), measurements read bya shop tool from a VDM, real-time and/or non-real-time electricalmeasurements (e.g., sensor readings), and/or other types of data. Forexample, the vehicle 8 can transmit data directly to the computingsystem 2 over communication link 11. As another example, the vehicle 8can transmit data indirectly to the computing system 2 by transmittingthe data over communication link 12, communication network 6, andcommunication link 10 to the server 4, after which the server 4 cantransmit the data over communication link 10, communication network 6,and communication link 9 to the computing system 2. The vehicle 8 canperform such an indirect transmission of data with or without specifyingthe computing system 2 as a destination for the data. For instance, thevehicle 8 (and perhaps other vehicles in communication with the server4) can transmit data to the server 4, specifying only the server 4 asthe destination for the data. Thereafter, the computing system 2 cantransmit to the server 4 a request for the data, the server 4 canassemble the data and transmit the data to the computing system 2 inresponse to the request.

The computing system 2, the server 4, and/or the vehicle 8 can transmitdata to (and receive data from) other devices on the communicationnetwork 6 as well, such as one or more databases (not shown) to whichthe computing system 2, the server 4, and/or the vehicle 8 have access.

For any given computer system discussed herein, such as the computingsystem 2, the server 4, and/or the vehicle 8, data received by thatdevice can be stored within a computer-readable medium for use by thatdevice. Further, for any given computer system discussed herein, such asthe computing system 2, the server 4, and/or the vehicle 8, datareceived by that device can be stored locally in memory at that deviceand/or can be stored remotely at a storage location accessible by thatdevice (e.g., a remote server or remote database).

One or more computing systems and/or one or more vehicles can beconnected by a network established by those devices, such as avehicle-to-client network, or the like. Such a network can comprise apersonal area network (PAN). The PAN can be configured according to anyof a variety of standards, protocols, and/or specifications. Forexample, the PAN can be configured according to a universal serial bus(USB) specification 2.0, 3.0, or 3.1 developed by the USB ImplementersForum. As another example, the PAN can be configured according to anInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard, suchas an IEEE 802.11 standard (e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n)or an IEEE 802.15 standard (e.g., 802.15.1, 802.15,3, 802.15.4, or802.15.5) for wireless PAN.

In example operating environment 1, there can be a scenario in which thecomputing system 2 transmits to the server 4 a request for a download ofinformation (e.g., information associated with a vehicle component for aparticular vehicle). Such a request can include, for example, a YMM of aparticular vehicle and a name of a particular vehicle component. Asanother example, the request can include a YMME of a particular vehicleand an indication (e.g., a description or code) of a particular symptomassociated with a particular vehicle component. As yet another example,the request can include data received from the vehicle for which theinformation is being requested, and such data can include a vehicleidentification number (VIN) of the vehicle, a DTC indicative of aparticular vehicle component of the vehicle, an image of a particularvehicle component, among other possibilities.

In this scenario, upon receipt of the request, the server 4 can assemblethe download. For instance, upon receipt of the request, the server 4can retrieve some or all of the computing system-requested informationfrom memory at the server 4. Additionally or alternatively, upon receiptof the request, the server 4 can in turn transmit to one or moredatabases located remotely from the server 4 a request for some or allof the computing system-requested information and then receive some orall of the computing system-requested information from the one or moredatabases. Upon assembling the download including the computingsystem-requested information, the server 4 can transmit the download tothe computing system 2.

Next, FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication workflow between acomputing system and a server. More specifically, the computing system 2may communicate with the server 4 to assist a user with the servicing ofthe vehicle 8. For instance, the computing system 2 may send a request14 over a communication network (e.g., the communication network 6) tothe server 4. The request 14 may include information describing thevehicle 8 (e.g., a YMM or a YMME) and related to operation of thevehicle 8 (e.g., symptoms). Upon receiving the request 14, the server 4may transmit a response 15 to the request 14 back to the computingsystem 2. The response may include various information that thecomputing system 2 may utilize. For example, the server 4 may transmit athreshold, multiple thresholds, or other information related to one ormore PIDs that correspond to the vehicle 8. As such, the response 15 tothe request 14 provided by the server 4 may allow the computing system 2to display contextually relevant pieces of data or information about thevehicle 8, such as vehicle data parameter (VDP) graphs indicative ofvarious PIDs, a list of PIDs, or a test to perform to service a vehiclewith respect to a PID that breached a PID threshold. The list of PIDscan include an indexed list of PIDs applicable to the vehicle andoperation of the vehicle described in the request 14. The VDP graphsprovided in the response 15 can be based on PIDs that the computingsystem 2 provided to the server 4 before transmission of the request 14.The test within the response 15 can be a single test or a test within anindexed list of tests, such as an indexed list of component tests, anindexed list of functional tests, or an indexed list of resetprocedures.

Next, FIG. 3 shows example details of the vehicle 8 and exampleplacement of the computing system 2 within the vehicle 8. Particularly,the vehicle 8 is shown with an airbag system ECU 16, a traction controlsystem ECU 17, a powertrain system (PT) ECU 18, an anti-lock brakesystem (ABS) ECU 19, a DLC 20, and sensor(s) 38 each of which isconnected to a vehicle communication link 21. Other examples of the ECUwithin the vehicle 8 are also possible.

The DLC 20 can have various positions within the vehicle 8. For example,the DLC 20 can be located within a passenger compartment of the vehicle8, within an engine compartment of the vehicle 8, or within a storagecompartment within the vehicle 8. Particularly, the computing system 2can include and/or connect to the DLC 20 via a DLC-to-display-devicecommunication link 22. As such, the computing system 2 can be removedafter the vehicle 8 has been serviced at a repair shop. In that way, thecomputing system 2 can be used to diagnose other vehicles, such asvehicle that subsequently arrive at a repair shop. As discussed above,the DLC 20 can comprise a connector such as an OBD I connector, an OBDII connector, or some other connector. Particularly, the DLC 20 caninclude one or more conductor terminals that connect to a conductor ofthe vehicle communication link such that the DLC 20 is communicativelyconnected to the ECU within the vehicle 8.

Sensor(s) 38 can represent various types of sensors that may measureoperations of systems of the vehicle 8, including systems illustrated inFIG. 3. In some examples, one or more sensors 38 may communicate withthe computing system 2 through the DLC 20 using the vehiclecommunication link 21 and/or the DLC-to-display-device communicationlink 22. In further examples, one or more sensors 38 may communicatedirectly with the computing system 2 through a wireless connection.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the computing system 2. As indicated above,in some examples, the computing system 2 may operate as a vehiclediagnostic tool, scanner, or other type of VST. In other examples, thecomputing system 2 may be a tablet computing system, a cellular phone(e.g., smartphone), a laptop or desktop computer, a head-mountabledevice (HMD), a wearable computing system, or a different type of fixedor mobile computing system. The configuration and type of computingsystem can vary within examples. For instance, the computing system 2can have various physical designs and additional components within otherexamples.

As shown in FIG. 4, the computing system 2 includes a processor 23, acommunication interface 24, a vehicle communication transceiver (VCT)25, user interfaces 26, and memory 27. Two or more of these componentsas well as other components can be communicatively coupled or linkedtogether via a system bus, network, or other connection mechanism 35.The computing system 2 can include more or fewer components within otherexamples.

The processor 23 (as well as any other processor discussed in thisdescription, such as the processor 60 shown in FIG. 6)) can include oneor more processors, such as one or more of the processors discussedbelow. In some implementations, the processor 23, 60 can include ageneral purpose processor, such as an INTEL® single core microprocessoror an INTEL® multicore microprocessor. A general purpose processor canbe configured for operating within and/or can be disposed within ageneral purpose computer, such as a personal computer (PC).

In some implementations, the processor 23, 60 can include a specialpurpose processor, such as a neural network processor, a graphicsprocessor, or an embedded processor. A special purpose processor can,but need not necessarily, be configured as an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC) processor.

An embedded processor refers to a processor with a dedicated function orfunctions within a larger electronic, mechanical, pneumatic, and/orhydraulic device, and is contrasted with a general purpose computer. Insome implementations, the embedded processor can execute an operatingsystem, such as a real-time operating system (RTOS). As an example, theRTOS can include the SMX® RTOS developed by Micro Digital, Inc., suchthat the processor 23, 60 can, but need not necessarily, include (a) anadvanced RISC (reduced instruction set computer) machine (ARM) processor(e.g., an AT91SAM4E ARM processor provided by the Atmel Corporation, SanJose, Calif.), or (b) a COLDFIRE® processor (e.g., a 52259 processor)provided by NXP Semiconductors N.V., Eindhoven, Netherlands. A generalpurpose processor, a special purpose processor, and/or an embeddedprocessor can perform analog signal processing and/or digital signalprocessing.

In some implementations, the processor 23, 60 can be configured toexecute computer-readable program instructions (CRPI) 28 stored in thememory 27. The CRPI configured to carry out functions discussed in thisdisclosure, such as the CRPI 28, 64, can include assembler instructions,machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode,firmware instructions, state-setting data, and/or either source code orobject code written in one or any combination of two or more programminglanguages. As an example, a programming language can include an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Python, or C++, or aconventional procedural programming language, such as the “C”programming language. The processor 23, 60 can also be configured toexecute hard-coded functionality in addition to or as an alternative tosoftware-coded functionality (e.g., via CRPI 28). Within exampleimplementations, the processor 23 can be programmed to perform anyfunction or combination of functions described herein as being performedby the computing system 2. Likewise, the processor 60 can be programmedto perform any function or combination of functions described herein asbeing performed by the server 4.

The communication interface 24 of the computing system 2 can include oneor more communication interfaces. Each communication interface caninclude one or more transmitters configured to transmit data onto anetwork, such as the communication network 6. As such, the datatransmitted by the communication interface 24 can comprise any datadescribed herein as being transmitted, output, and/or provided by thecomputing system 2. Moreover, each communication interface can includeone or more receivers configured to receive data carried over a network,such as the communication network 6. The data received by thecommunication interface 24 can comprise any data described herein asbeing received by the computing system 2, such as vehicle identifyinginformation or a DTC.

The VCT 25 can include (a) a transmitter configured for transmitting aVDM to the vehicle 8 and/or to an ECU within the vehicle 8, and (b) areceiver configured for receiving a VDM transmitted by the vehicle 8and/or by the ECU. As an example, the transmitter and the receiver ofthe VCT 25 can be integrated into a single semiconductor chip. Asanother example, the transmitter and the receiver of the VCT 25 can beseparate semiconductor chips.

The VCT 25 can include and/or be connected to a wiring harness. Thewiring harness can be configured to provide a wired connection betweenthe computing system 2 and the vehicle 8. In some embodiments, thewiring harness can be removably connectable to the DLC 20 within thevehicle 8. In those embodiments, the DLC 20 can provide the computingsystem 2 with an indirect connection to an ECU, such as an ECU thatprovides PID parameters. In some other embodiments, the wiring harnesscan provide the computing system 2 with a direct connection to the ECU.The VCT 25 can include and/or connect to one or more connectors, one ofwhich can be located at the end of the wiring harness.

The VCT 25 can be configured to communicate with the vehicle 8 and/or anECU within the vehicle 8 wirelessly. The VCT 25 that communicateswirelessly can transmit radio signals carrying data or a communication,such as a request for PID parameters, and can receive radio signalscarrying data or a communication, such as a response including PIDparameters.

The VCT 25 can be configured to transmit VDM according to a VDM protocoland to receive VDM according to the VDM protocol. In one implementation,the VCT 25 can be configured to transmit VDM according to multiple VDMprotocols and receive VDM according to multiple VDM protocols. As anexample of that implementation, the VCT 25 can include multiplesemi-conductor chips, each semi-conductor chip dedicated fortransmitting and receiving VDM according to at least one VDM protocol.

The user interfaces 26 can include one or more display interfaces andother potential elements configurable to display information to a user.For instance, the user interfaces 26 can represent a type of userinterface that allows users to interact with the computing system 2through graphical icons and visual indicators. The user interface 26 canalso enable the user to use the computing system 2 to communicate withother devices (e.g., sensors) measuring aspects of the vehicle. Variousexample graphical user interfaces are described below with regards toFIG. 5.

The user interfaces 26 can also include various types of interfacesconfigurable to receive users' inputs and other information. Forexample, the user interfaces 26 may include one or more microphonesconfigured to detect and receive vocal input from users and/or othersounds. In some examples, the microphones can detect and receive anysound as the sound occurs (e.g., when the user provides a vocal input,the microphone captures it). Alternatively, the microphones can beconfigured to only detect audio in response to the user pushing abutton, using an associated application, or some other form ofactivation technique. In some examples, the microphones may operate asphysically separate devices from the computing system 2.

In further examples, the user interfaces 26 can include buttons,switches, joysticks, or other physical structures configurable toreceive inputs from one or multiple users. For example, the computingsystem 2 can include a button that a user can use to record a date andtime of the button push, such as recording button pushes during theoperation of a vehicle. The user interfaces 26 can include othermechanical structures that enable a user to provide inputs to thecomputing system 2. For example, the user interfaces 26 can include amotion sensor configured to detect and measure movements of the user.

The memory 27 can include one or more types of memories. A “memory” canbe referred to by other terms such as a “computer-readable memory,” a“computer-readable medium,” a “computer-readable storage medium,” a“data storage device,” a “memory device,” “computer-readable media,” a“computer-readable database,” “at least one computer-readable medium,”or “one or more computer-readable medium.” Any of those alternativeterms can be preceded by the prefix “transitory” if the memory istransitory or “non-transitory” if the memory is non-transitory. Forinstance, the memory 27 can comprise a non-transitory memory, atransitory memory, or both a non-transitory memory and a transitorymemory. A non-transitory memory, or a portion thereof, can be locatedwithin or as part of a processor (e.g., within a single integratedcircuit chip). A non-transitory memory, or a portion thereof, can beseparate and distinct from a processor.

The memory 27 stores computer-readable data, such as the CRPI 28, anindex 29, and a default diagnostic list 30. The CRPI 28 can comprise aplurality of program instructions and can also include data structures,objects, programs, routines, or other program modules that can beaccessed by a processor and executed by the processor to perform aparticular function or group of functions and are examples of programcodes for implementing steps for methods described in this description.In general, the CRPI 28 can include program instructions to cause thecomputing system 2 to perform any function described herein as beingperformed by the computing system 2 or to cause any component of thecomputing system 2 to perform any function herein as being performed bythat component of the computing system 2. As an example, the CRPI 28 caninclude program instructions to perform the set of functions 180described herein or similar functions.

The index 29 may include a listing of PIDs, component tests, functionaltests, and/or reset procedures, among other possible information. Insome examples, the index 29 may also include additional associatedinformation. For example, as part of a PID index (e.g., PID index 70described in FIG. 7), PID descriptors may also be stored for display bythe computing system 2. As a further example, information indicating howto communicate a request for each PID value to the vehicle 8 may also bestored as part of a PID index.

The default diagnostic list 30 may indicate particular PIDs, functionaltests, component tests, and/or reset procedures to display for a givensymptom or set of symptoms for the vehicle 8. In other examples, thedefault diagnostic list 30 may indicate which PIDs, functional tests,component tests, and/or reset procedures to display for any symptom whena symptom-based filter list is unavailable from the server 4.

The memory 27 may further store sensor measurements 31, images/video 32,audio recordings 33, and PID values/PID index 34, among other possibleinformation. Sensor measurements 31 may correspond to sensor dataprovided by various sensors that can communicate with the computingsystem 2. For example, the computing system 2 may communicate and storetemperature measurements from a thermal sensor. In further examples, thecomputing system 2 can communicate with other sensors that can measureaspects of operation of the vehicle.

In some examples, the computing system 2 may include or communicate withdigital oscilloscopes to obtain sensor data. A digital oscilloscope maydisplay voltage over a period time, which can help identify a vehiclefault associated with a vehicle symptom, such as an engine knock, anengine misfire, or a pulsing vehicle brake. In other examples, thecomputing system 2 may receive sensor data from a pulse sensorconfigured to measure pressure fluctuations for exhaust, intake,crankcase, and fuel rail of the vehicle 8. Similarly, the computingsystem 2 may communicate with pressure transducers that can measurepressure related data from the vehicle 8. In some examples, thecomputing system 2 may communicate with a laser thermometer, a snifferconfigured to detect certain smells (e.g., richness) in the exhaust,coolant, etc.

In addition, the computing system 2 may communicate with a microphonesystem (e.g., the Blue-Point® electronic squeak and rattle finder). Themicrophone system can include microphones capable of connecting tovarious parts of the vehicle 8. For example, a user can positionmicrophones nearby the engine and other components of the vehicle 8. Themicrophone system can enable the user to listen to gears, bearings, andsuspension while the vehicle 8 is under load so that problems can bemore accurately pin-pointed. In some examples, upon hearing a noise, themicrophone system may provide an alert to the user through the computingsystem 2. For example, a microphone may receive a sound wave above acertain decibel (dB) level or within a certain frequency range and causethe computing system 2 to drop a flag to mark that moment. Themicrophone system may also detect an audible signal and provide thesignal to processing circuitry for capture and comparison to knownaudible signals. The comparison may result in the computing system 2dropping a flag to mark the time of capture of the audible signalcapture.

As an example, the microphone system may detect a “knocking sound”originating from the engine. In response, the computing system 2 cantrigger an oil pressure sensor measurement to determine if the oilpressure sensor or an oil pump requires a replacement. In anotherexample, the microphone system may be placed in proximity to brakes ofthe vehicle 8, detect sounds coming from the brakes as the vehicle 8travels uphill, and responsively cause the computing system 2 to drop aflag for subsequent review as a result. In a further example, themicrophone system may detect for turbocharge boost leaks via high pitchsounds.

In other examples, other communication can occur between devicesoperating in the vehicle. For example, the user can use the computingsystem 2 to trigger operation of one or more sensors measuring aspectsof operation of one or more vehicle systems. For instance, the user mayprovide a vocal command or physical input to the computing system 2 thatcauses the computing system 2 to trigger operation of one or moresensors. In some instances, triggering operation of one or more sensorsmay involve causing the computing system 2 or another system to recordsensor measurements from the one or more sensors starting at that timeperiod. The time period may end when the computing system 2 transmits astop signal or after a predetermined duration. Further, some examplesmay involve a sensor similarly triggering one or more sensors to captureinformation regarding operation of one or more systems of the vehiclefor later review by the user.

In some implementations, a sensor can connect to an analog or digitalinput of the processor 23. In those or other implementations, a sensorcan connect to an analog-to-digital converter connected to a digitalinput of the processor 23. As an example, a sensor can output an analogvoltage signal between zero volts and five volts. As another example, asensor can output a pulse-width modulated signal between zero volts andtwelve volts. Other examples of sensor outputs and sensor output voltageranges are possible.

Images/video 32 may correspond to images and/or video captured by acamera or camera systems associated with a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle8). For example, the computing system 2 can activate and sendinstructions to a camera or camera system associated with a vehicle. Thecamera may capture images or video of gauges, the interior of thevehicle, the exterior of the vehicle, or a path of travel in response toreceiving instructions from the computing system 2, for instance.

Audio recordings 33 may correspond to audio inputs captured by one ormultiple microphones associated with the computing system 2. Forinstance, the computing system 2 may receive audio input from a userwhile the user test drives the vehicle 8. In some examples, thecomputing system 2 may cause a microphone to record audio in response todetecting a particular word or phrase. In other examples, the computingsystem 2 may cause a microphone to record audio in response to detectinga user motion or input (e.g., a button push).

PID values/PID index 34 may include information indicating specifiedvalues of parameters associated with a vehicle component (e.g., sensorvalues) as well as PIDs arranged in indices. The computing system 2 mayacquire PID values from a vehicle (e.g., the vehicle 8) or anotherdevice (e.g., the server 4). In some examples, upon acquiring PID valuesfrom the vehicle 8, the computing system 2 may arrange the PID valuesinto PID indices within the PID values/PID index 34.

The computing system 2 can also include a power supply 36. A powersupply such as the power supply 36 or any other power supply discussedin this disclosure can include (1) a connection to an external powersource, and (2) circuitry to provide an electrical current toelectrically-operable component(s) connected to the power supply. As anexample, the external power source can include a wall outlet at which aconnection to an alternating current can be made. As another example,the external power source can include an energy storage device (e.g., abattery) or an electric generator. As yet another example, the processor23, the communication interface 24, the VCT 25, the user interfaces 26,and/or the memory can be and electrically-operable component.

Additionally or alternatively, a power supply such as the power supply36 or any other power supply discussed in this disclosure can include(1) a connection to an internal power source, and (2) power transfercircuitry to provide an electrical current to flow toelectrically-operable component(s) connected to the internal powersource. As an example, the internal power source can include an energystorage device, such as a battery.

Furthermore, a power supply such as the power supply 36 or any otherpower supply discussed in this disclosure can include a circuitprotector and/or a signal conditioner.

The computing system 2 can include a housing 37 that provides supportfor the processor 23, the communication interface 24, the VCT 25, theuser interfaces 26, the memory, the connection mechanism 35, and/or thepower supply 36. The support provided by the housing 37 can be directsupport in which another component of the computing system 2, such as adisplay of the user interfaces 26 directly contacts the housing 37.Alternatively and/or additionally, the support provided by the housing37 can be indirect support in which another component of the computingsystem 2 is located upon or within another component of the computingsystem 2 that directly contacts the housing 37. For instance, thecomputing system 2 can include a circuit board or other substrate thatdirectly contacts the housing 37 and upon which the processor 23, thecommunication interface 24, the VCT 25, the user interfaces 26, thememory, the connection mechanism 35, and/or the power supply 36 isdisposed.

Next, FIG. 5 is an illustration of an example vehicle service tool inaccordance with the example embodiments. The VST 40 can operateutilizing the computing system 2 shown in FIG. 4 or utilizing anothercomputing system. In some examples, the VST 40 can represent a physicalconfiguration of the computing system 2. As such, the VST 40 includes adisplay 41, a user input section 42, and a housing 43 with the display41 and the user input section 42 making up a part of a user interfaceconfigured to receive input from a user and provide output to the userof the VST 40.

In some examples, the display 41 of the VST 40 can include a touchscreeninterface/display, such as a color touchscreen used on the MODIS™ ultraintegrated diagnostic system (reference number EEMS328 W) available fromSnap-on Incorporated of Kenosha, Wis. or another type of touch-screeninterface. In other examples, the display 41 can include a backlit colorliquid crystal display (LCD) having a capacitive, resistive, or infraredtouchscreen interface or panel or a plasma display or a light emittingdiode (LED) display. In further examples, the display 41 can include adisplay like those used as part of a tablet device (such as an IPAD®tablet device from Apple Inc., or a SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB tablet devicefrom Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.). As another example, the display 41can include a display like displays used on a smartphone (such as anIPHONE® smartphone from Apple Inc. of Cupertino, Calif., or a GALAXY S®smartphone from Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Of Maetan-Dong,Yeongtong-Gu Suwon-Si, Gyeonggi-Do, Republic of Korea). Other examplesof the display 41 on the VST 40 are also possible.

As shown in FIG. 5, the display 41 can have a rectangular-like shape,such as a rectangle with square corners or a generally rectangular shapewith rounded corners, but the display 41 is not limited to such shapes.For instance, the display 41 can have a circular or triangular shapewithin other examples. Further, in other examples, the VST 40 mayinclude multiple displays (e.g., a front display and a back display).

The VST 40 further includes the user input section 42, which can includevarious types of input mechanisms for enabling a user to communicatewith the VST 40. For instance, as shown in FIG. 5, the user inputsection 42 can include one or more input selectors, such as input keys44, 45, 46, 47, and 48. The user input keys can be arranged in any of avariety of configurations. For instance, input key 44 can represent anup-direction selection, input key 45 can represent a right-directionselection, input key 46 can represent a down-direction selection, inputkey 47 can represent a left-direction selection, and input key 48 canrepresent an enter selection. Pressing one of the input keys can cause adisplay pointer 49 to move in a direction represented by the input keybeing pressed. Pressing the input key 48 can cause selection of adisplayed data element to which the display pointer 49 is pointing. Inother examples, the user input section 42 may include input controlsarranged in other configurations, such as joysticks, touchpads, or otherbutton layouts (e.g., a directional pad). In further examples, the VST40 may include other components for receiving input from a user, such asa microphone to receive verbal commands or a camera for detectingmotions of the user.

The processor 23 shown in the computing system 2 in FIG. 4 can executeprogram instructions of the CRPI 28 to cause the display 41 of the VST40 to display one or more vehicle data parameter (VDP) graph windows orother information. A VDP graph window can represent informationcorresponding to one or more PIDs obtained from the vehicle 8. Forinstance, the VDP graph window can include a VDP line graph thatrepresents parameters relating to a particular PID. The display 41 candisplay one or more VDP graphs using different size windows that areadjustable by a user. For instance, as shown in FIG. 5, the VST 40 cancause the display 41 to display VDP graph 50 shown in a rectangularwindow. In other examples, the display 41 can display vehicle parametersas digital values. Other examples are also possible.

The VDP graph 50 can include various elements, such as VDP line graph 51representing parameters corresponding to a PID. The VDP graph 50 canalso show graph text 52, which may include information such as a name ofa parameter represented by the VDP line graph 51, a units identifieridentifying the units of the VDP line graph 51 (e.g., volts, percent, orcounts), and threshold ranges (e.g., minimum and maximum thresholdsassociated with a particular PID). In some instances, the minimum andmaximum ranges can be restricted to the minimum and maximum values ofthe VDP line graph 51 currently displayed within the VDP graph 50. Forinstance, memory 27 can store minimum and maximum values for one or morevehicle parameters and use those stored minimum and maximum values topopulate the graph text 52 when a parameter associated with minimum andmaximum values is displayed by the display 41 on the VST 40.

The processor 23 can execute program instructions of the CRPI 28 tocause the display 41 to display one or more scroll bars, such as thescroll bar 53. The scroll bar 53 can be used to scroll through multiplegraphs of parameters corresponding to various PIDs or other informationdisplayable on the display 41. In further examples, the processor 23 canexecute program instructions of the CRPI 28 to cause the display 41 todisplay a graph view slider that is configurable to modify a view of thegraph of parameters corresponding to a given PID on the display 41.

The housing 43 can provide support or protection of components of theVST 40. As such, in some examples, the housing 43 can include hand grips54, 55 to enable a user to hold the VST 40. The housing 43 can includeone or more port openings (not shown) for connecting one or morecommunication links, such as the communication links 9, 11. In otherexamples, the housing 43 can have other configurations.

Next, FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the server 4. Particularly, theserver 4 comprises a processor 60, a communication interface 61, and amemory 62. Two or more of those components can be communicativelycoupled or linked together via a system bus, network, or otherconnection mechanism 63. In other examples, the server 4 can includemore or fewer components. The server 4 can include a power source. Atleast one of processor 60, the communication interface 61, and/or thememory 62 can comprise an electrically-operable component connected tothe power source in the server 4.

The processor 60 can be configured to execute computer-readable programinstructions (CRPI), such as CRPI 64 stored in the memory 62. Theprocessor 60 can be configured to execute hard-coded functionality inaddition to or as an alternative to software-coded functionality (e.g.,via CRPI 64), and can be programmed to perform any function orcombination of functions described herein as being performed by theserver 4. Examples of the processor 60 are discussed above.

The memory 62 stores computer-readable data, such as the CRPI 64,diagnostic session data (DSD) 65, a diagnostic list 66, a threshold 67,PID index 68, and PID count 69. The memory 62 may correspond to varioustypes of memory and may store other information within examples.

The DSD 65 can comprise data the server 4 can use to determine anoperating state of the computing system 2. The data the server 4 uses todetermine an operating state of the computing system 2 can includevehicle identifying information, data indicating an elapsed time sincethe server 4 last received a communication from the computing system 2,data indicating the most recent type of diagnostic list requested byand/or transmitted to the computing system 2, and/or data indicating arepair has been made to the particular vehicle.

The DSD 65 can comprise data indicative of the determined operatingstate of the computing system 2. Examples of the operating state include(i) the computing system 2 is connected to the server 4, (ii) thecomputing system 2 is not connected to the server 4 (i.e., disconnectedfrom the server 4), (iii) the computing system 2 is connected to aparticular vehicle (e.g., the vehicle 8), (iv) the computing system 2 isno longer connected to the particular vehicle (i.e., disconnected fromthe particular vehicle), (v) the computing system 2 is in a requestand/or display diagnostic list mode for the particular vehicle, (vi) thecomputing system 2 has exited the request and/or display diagnostic listmode for the particular vehicle, and (vii) the computing system 2 hasreturned to the request and/or display diagnostic list mode for theparticular vehicle.

The DSD 65 can also comprise data indicating a diagnostic session at thecomputing system 2 is active or inactive. The server 4 can determine anew diagnostic session is active upon receiving vehicle identifyinginformation for a particular vehicle while the DSD 65 does not includedata indicating a diagnostic session is active for the particularvehicle. The server 4 can determine an active diagnostic session for aparticular vehicle has transitioned to inactive upon receiving vehicleidentifying information for a different particular vehicle. The server 4can determine an active diagnostic session for a particular vehicle hastransitioned to an inactive session upon determining a threshold amountof time has elapsed since a particular activity of the active diagnosticsession. As an example, the particular activity can comprise receiving arequest from the computing system 2, receiving a communicationindicating the computing system 2 is connected to the communicationnetwork 6 and/or transmitting a response with a diagnostic list 66 tothe computing system 2. Other examples of the particular activity arealso possible. The diagnostic list 66 may include OBD data or otherinformation from the vehicle or vehicles. For instance, the diagnosticlist 66 may indicate particular PIDs, functional tests, component tests,and/or reset procedures to display for a given symptom or set ofsymptoms for the vehicle 8. In other examples, the diagnostic list 66may indicate which PIDs, functional tests, component tests, and/or resetprocedures to display for any symptom.

The threshold 67 can comprise thresholds for PIDs. The thresholds foreach PID can comprise a maximum data value and a minimum data value. Thethreshold 67 can comprise one or more thresholds for PIDs from each setof vehicles identifiable by some particular vehicle identifyinginformation. In this way, the server 4 can provide the computing system2 with applicable thresholds with respect to a particular vehicleconnected to the computing system 2.

In one respect, the threshold 67 can comprise thresholds defined by avehicle manufacturer. For a particular PID associated with a DTC, thevehicle manufacturer may define the maximum data value as the greatestdata value for the particular PID an ECU would output while theassociated DTC is set to inactive, and the vehicle manufacturer maydefine the minimum data value as the lowest data value for theparticular PID the ECU would output while the associated DTC is set toinactive. In another respect, the threshold 67 can comprise thresholdsdetermined by the server 4 from PID data values received withincommunications that include PID data values. The server 4 can store thereceived PID data values within the threshold 67 and determine themaximum and minimum data values for each PID for each set of vehiclesidentifiable by particular vehicle identifying information.

PID index 68 can include an indexed list of PIDs applicable to one ormultiple vehicles and operation of the one or more vehicles. Forinstance, PID index 68 may include a variety of PIDs arranged accordingto one or more parameters associated with the PIDs. In some examples,the server 4 may store PIDs in the PID index 68 for a vehicle (e.g., thevehicle 8).

The server 4 can maintain a PID count 69 that indicates how many PIDdata values have been received and/or stored for a particular PID. Theserver 4 can compare the PID count to a first threshold PID count valuestored in the threshold 67. If the server 4 determines that the PIDcount is less than the first threshold PID count value, the server 4 canproduce a first threshold for the particular PID. As an example, theserver 4 can determine the first threshold for the PID to be a meanmaximum PID data value plus X standard deviations of the mean maximumPID data value and a mean minimum PID data value minus X standarddeviations of the mean minimum PID data value. The mean maximum PID datavalue is the mean of maximum PID data values for the particular PIDacross vehicles identifiable by the particular vehicle identifyinginformation with all DTC from the ECU that provides the particular PIDset to inactive. The mean minimum PID data value is the mean of minimumPID data values for the particular PID across vehicles identifiable bythe particular vehicle identifying information with all DTC from the ECUthat provides the particular PID set to inactive.

As the server 4 continues to receive PID data values for the particularPID, the server 4 can determine the quantity of received PID data valuesfor the particular PID exceeds the first threshold PID count value, butis less than a second threshold PID count value. In this situation, theserver 4 can produce a second threshold for the particular PID. As anexample, the server 4 can determine the second threshold for the PID tobe a mean maximum PID data value plus X−1 standard deviations of themean maximum PID data value and a mean minimum PID data value minus X−1standard deviations of the mean minimum PID data value. The firstthreshold can be referred to a loose threshold with respect to thesecond threshold. The second threshold can be referred to as a tighterthreshold with respect to the first threshold.

The server 4 can determine loose and tight thresholds in other manners.For example, before the server 4 has received a number of PID datavalues for the particular PID that exceeds the first threshold PID countvalue, the server 4 can add a first percentage of the mean maximum PIDdata value for the particular PID to that mean maximum PID data value ora first percentage of the maximum PID data value for the particular PIDto that maximum PID data value. Furthermore, before the server 4 hasreceived a number of PID data values for the particular PID that exceedsthe first threshold PID count value, the server 4 can subtract a firstpercentage of the mean minimum PID data value for the particular PIDfrom that mean minimum PID data value or a first percentage of theminimum PID data value for the particular PID from that minimum PID datavalue.

As the server 4 continues to receive PID data values for the particularPID, the server 4 can determine the quantity of received PID data valuesfor the particular PID exceeds the first threshold PID count value, butis less than a second threshold PID count value. In this situation, theserver 4 can add a second percentage of a mean maximum PID data valuefor the particular PID to that mean maximum PID data value or a secondpercentage of a maximum PID data value for the particular PID to thatmaximum PID data value, and the server 4 can subtract a secondpercentage of a mean minimum PID data value for the particular PID fromthat mean minimum PID data value or a second percentage of a minimum PIDdata value for the particular PID from that minimum PID data value. Thesecond percentage can be smaller than the first percentage so that thethresholds determined using the second percentage is typically a tighterthreshold range as compared to the thresholds determined using the firstpercentage.

The server 4 can provide the computing system 2 with a threshold ormultiple thresholds for the particular PID without any tolerance valuesso that the computing system 2 does not need to calculate a threshold orthresholds to be displayed on a graphical interface of the computingsystem 2. Alternatively, the server 4 can provide the computing system 2with a threshold or multiple thresholds for the particular PID with atleast one tolerance value. The at least one tolerance value could, forexample, be the first percentage or second percentage discussed above,or a value of the X standard deviations or the X−1 standard deviations.Other examples of the at least one tolerance value are also possible.

The CRPI 64 can comprise a plurality of program instructions. The CRPI64 and any other CRPI described in this description can include datastructures, objects, programs, routines, or other program modules thatcan be accessed by a processor and executed by the processor to performa particular function or group of functions and are examples of programcodes for implementing steps for methods described in this description.In general, the CRPI 64 can include program instructions to cause theserver 4 to perform any function described herein as being performed bythe server 4 or to cause any component of the server 4 to perform anyfunction herein as being performed by that component of the server 4.

As another example, the CRPI 64 can include program instructions toperform session management with respect to the computing system 2. Theprocessor 60 can use the DSD 65 to determine the operating state of thecomputing system 2. Upon and/or in response to determining the computingsystem 2 is in the request and/or display diagnostic list mode for theparticular vehicle, the processor 60 can determine the requesteddiagnostic list and provide the computing system 2 with a responseincluding the requested diagnostic list.

Upon and/or in response to determining the computing system 2 has exitedthe request and/or display diagnostic list mode for the particularvehicle and that a repair has been made to the particular vehicle, theprocessor 60 can provide a session-change response to the computingsystem 2 to direct the computing system 2 to displaypreviously-displayed data, such as a diagnostic list 66. Thesession-change response can include the previously-displayed diagnosticlist or the different diagnostic list.

Upon and/or in response to determining the computing system 2 hasreturned to the request and/or display diagnostic list mode for theparticular vehicle, the processor 60 can provide a session-changeresponse to the sever 4 or a display device to direct the computingsystem 2 to display a previously-displayed diagnostic list or adifferent diagnostic list.

A communication interface such as the communication interface 61 or anyother communication interface discussed in this description can includeone or more communication interfaces. Each communication interface caninclude one or more transmitters configured to transmit data onto anetwork, such as the communication network 6. The data transmitted bythe communication interface 61 can comprise any data described herein asbeing transmitted, output, and/or provided by the server 4. Moreover,each communication interface can include one or more receiversconfigured to receive data carried over a network, such as thecommunication network 6. The data received by the communicationinterface 61 can comprise any data described herein as being received bythe server, such as PIDs and PID data values and any request describedherein.

A transmitter can transmit radio signals carrying data and a receivercan receive radio signals carrying data. A communication interface withthat transmitter and receiver can include one or more antennas and canbe referred to as a “radio communication interface,” an “RFcommunication interface,” or a “wireless communication interface.” Theradio signals transmitted or received by a radio communication interfacecan be arranged in accordance with one or more wireless communicationstandards or protocols such as an IEEE 802.15.1 standard for WPANs, aBluetooth version 4.1 standard developed by the Bluetooth SpecialInterest Group (SIG) of Kirkland, Wash., or an IEEE 802.11 standard forwireless LANs (which is sometimes referred to as a WI-FI® standard), ora cellular wireless communication standard such as a long term evolution(LTE) standard, a code division multiple access (CDMA) standard, anintegrated digital enhanced network (IDEN) standard, a global system formobile communications (GSM) standard, a general packet radio service(GPRS) standard, a universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS)standard, an enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) standard, or amultichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS) standard.

Additionally or alternatively, a transmitter can transmit a signal(e.g., one or more signals or one or more electrical waves) carrying orrepresenting data onto a wire (e.g., one or more wires) and a receivercan receive via a wire a signal carrying or representing data over thewire. The wire can be part of a network, such as the communicationnetwork 6. The signal carried over a wire can be arranged in accordancewith a wired communication standard such as a Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), an IEEE 802.3 Ethernetcommunication standard for a LAN, a data over cable service interfacespecification (DOCSIS standard), such as DOCSIS 3.1, a USB specification(as previously described), or some other wired communication standard.

The data transmitted by a communication interface can include adestination identifier or address of a network device to which the datais to be transmitted. The data transmitted by a communication interfacecan include a source identifier or address of the system componentincluding the communication interface. The source identifier or addresscan be used to send a response to the network device that includes thecommunication interface that sent the data.

A communication interface that is configured to carry out communicationsover the communication network 6, such as the communication interface61, can include a modem, a network interface card, and/or a chipmountable on a circuit board. As an example the chip can comprise aCC3100 Wi-Fi® network processor available from Texas Instruments,Dallas, Tex., a CC256MODx Bluetooth® Host Controller Interface (HCI)module available from Texas instruments, and/or a different chip forcommunicating via Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® or another communication protocol.

Next, FIG. 7 shows an example PID index 70, which comprises an orderedlist of PIDs. Particularly, three example representations of PIDs areshown within the PID index 70, which represents the PIDs using PIDnumbers 71, index values 72, and PID names 73 (e.g., at least one worddescribing a PID). A different PID index (for use with the exampleembodiments) may represent PIDs using only one of those three examplerepresentations, a combination of any two of those three examplerepresentations, or with a different example PID representation. The VST40 may use PID index 70 to display parameters related to a set ofassociated PIDs on the display 41.

The index values 72 can, for example, comprise decimal, hexadecimal, ornumbers of some other base to represent the PIDs within the PID index70. Other example PID indexes may comprise multiple PID indices, such asa separate PID index for each of multiple different set of particularidentifying information (e.g., a separate PID index for each Y/M/M orY/M/M/E). As such, the separate PID index can be arranged like the PIDindex 70 or in another manner. The PID index 70 can comprise or beassociated with particular vehicle identifying information. The server 4can provide a PID index to the computing system 2 for identifyingsuggested PIDs to request from the vehicle 8 to diagnose the vehicle 8.

III. Example Display Presentations

Next, FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example display presentation (DP)76 that the VST 40 can display on the display 41. The DP 76 is shown ina landscape orientation, but can have a vertical orientation in otherexamples. As such, the DP 76 includes a VDP graph window 78 with a VDPline graph 80, VDP graph text 81, and VDP threshold indicators 82, 83placed on the VDP line graph 80. The DP 76 also displays vehicleoperating condition indicators 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, and 89 along with atime-based indicator 90, and further includes a view selector 91 forselecting different views for a set of VDP, at least one of which caninclude a currently displayed VDP. Besides the graph view depicted inFIG. 8, other views can include, but are not limited to, a digital viewand a list view.

The VDP line graph 80 is an example of a line graph in which the areabelow the line graph is not shaded. The VDP line graph 80 can representparameters related to a particular PID, such as a first PID that is partof a set of associated PIDs. The VDP line graph 80 can include or bedisplayed with other information related to operation of the vehicle 8.That other information can comprise VDP graph text 81, for example. Ingeneral, the VDP graph text 81 can include graph text pertaining to anyVDP associated with or from the vehicle 8. As an example, the VDP graphtext 81 can comprise text indicative of a threshold that pertains to aparticular vehicle component (e.g., a throttle position sensor (TPS)position) or a PID associated with that vehicle component. The thresholdcan specify its units, such as a percentage, volts or amperes.

The VDP threshold indicator 82 shown positioned above the VDP line graph80 in the VDP graph window 78 may represent an upper VDP thresholdassociated with a TPS position percentage shown in the VDP graph text81. Similarly, the VDP threshold indicator 83 may represent a lower VDPthreshold associated with a TPS position percentage. In some exampleimplementations, the VDP threshold indicators 82 and 83 can includevisual indicators (e.g., horizontal lines) indicative of the thresholds.A VDP indicator, such as VDP threshold indicator 82 or 83, can alsoinclude a vehicle operating condition (VOC) indicator. A VOC indicatorcan have unique characteristics to distinguish it from a different typeof VOC indicator. In addition, the VDP graph window 78 includes an upperthreshold indicator 94 that indicates a numeric value of the upperthreshold of the VDP displayed in the VDP graph window 78. The VDP graphwindow 78 includes a lower threshold indicator 95 that indicates anumeric value of the lower threshold of the VDP displayed in the VDPgraph window 78.

As further shown in FIG. 8, the VOC indicator of the VDP thresholdindicator 82 includes a dark-colored flag icon 92, whereas the VOCindicator of the VDP threshold indicator 83 includes a light-coloredflag icon 93. The dark-colored flag icon 92 and the light-colored flagicon 93 are further discussed with respect to FIG. 10.

The time-based indicator 90 depicted in the DP 76 can represent varioustime segments on a display of the VST 40. In other examples, thetime-based indicator 90 can have other positions or configurations. Asshown, the time-based indicator 90 can include a cursor positioner 96and time segments 97, 98, and 99 to convey time information to a user ofthe VST 40. The cursor positioner 96 can correspond to a cursor 100positioned in the VDP graph window 78 and may also correspond to adigital VDP value 101 that indicates a current value of the VDP at thecursor 100. The DP 76 shows the time-based indicator near a bottom ofthe DP 76. The time-based indicator 90 could be displayed at otherlocations within a DP.

The time segment 97 provides an indication of an amount time orpercentage that frames or data values for the displayed VDP werecaptured prior to the frames or data values of the VDP currentlydisplayed within the VDP graph window 78, relative to the time segments98 and 99. The time segment 98 provides an indication of an amount oftime or percentage represented by the VDP values displayed within theVDP graph window 78, relative to the time segments 97 and 99. The timesegment 99 provides an indication of an amount of time or percentagethat the VST can receive additional frames or data values of the VDPbefore prior instances of the received VDP are overwritten or otherwisedeleted for storage of additional frame or data values of the VDP,relative to the time segments 97 and 98.

The VDP line graph 80 can be zoomed in or out within the VDP graphwindow 78 via a user interface of the VST 40. As an example, the cursorpositioner 96 can be moved in a first direction (e.g., to the right) inorder to zoom in on the VDP line graph 80 and moved in a seconddirection (e.g., to the left) in order to zoom out on the VDP line graph80. As another example, the cursor 100 or a cursor bar 102 could bemoved in the first and second directions to zoom in and zoom out,respectively, of the VDP line graph 80. As another example, zooming inon a VDP line graph can include decreasing the time representedhorizontally within the VDP graph window 78 and zooming out on a VDPline graph can include increasing the time representing horizontallywith the VDP graph window 78. Alternatively, repositioning the cursor100 or the cursor bar 102 can include representing a current value of aVDP at another position within the VDP graph window 78.

Next, FIG. 9 is a diagram depicting another example display presentation103 that the VST 40 may display on the display 41. The DP 103 is shownin a portrait orientation, but can be displayed in another orientation(e.g., landscape) within other examples. As such, the DP 103 displaysVDP graph windows 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, and 109 that include VDPgraph lines 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, and 121, and VDP graph text 110,111, 112, 113, 114, and 115, respectively. Other examples are possible.

The VDP graph text 110-115 may provide text that identifies a differentPID for each VDP graph window shown in the DP 103. For instance, the VDPgraph text 110 may be associated with a particular PID and can specifyunits for the data values of the VDP graph line 116 and at least one ofa minimum data value and a maximum data value. The minimum and maximumdata values can indicate a low VDP threshold and a high VDP threshold,respectively, but are not so limited. For example the minimum andmaximum data values can indicate a minimum data value and a maximum datavalue of the VDP currently displayed within the VDP graph windowincluding or associated with the VDP graph text.

The DP 103 further includes a text view selector 122 and a graph viewselector 123. While the display 41 of the VST 40 is displaying VDP graphwindows in a graph view as shown in FIG. 9, the text view selector 122can be selected by the display pointer, or otherwise (e.g., via atouchscreen interface or a voice command), to cause the display to begindisplaying the VDP shown in one or more of the VDP graph windows 104,105, 106, 107, 108, and 109, or the data represented therein, in atextual format. While the display is displaying VDP in a textual format,the graph view selector 123 can be selected by the display pointer orotherwise (e.g., via a touch screen, voice input) to cause the displayto begin displaying the VDP graph windows 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, and109.

The DP 103 includes the time-based indicator 124 with time segments 410,412, 414, a cursor positioner 416, and a cursor 228 within each of theVDP graph windows 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, and 109. The cursorpositioner 416 can be moved in either direction along the time-basedindicator 124 to cause uniform movement of the cursor 228 within each ofthe VDP graph windows 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, and 109.

Next, FIG. 10 is a diagram depicting example display presentations 125and 126 that can be provided by a device via a display or graphical userinterface. For instance, example devices that may display DPs 125, 126can include the VST 40, a smartphone, or another type of device with agraphical user interface. The DPs 125, 126 include the DP selector 127that can enable viewing a different VDP display presentation ordisplaying other information (e.g., a list of PIDs by selecting “LISTVIEW” or a graph of PIDs by selecting the “GRAPH VIEW”. For instance, aselection of DP selector 127 causes DP 126 to display a different VDPdisplay presentation (e.g., a list view presentation or graph viewpresentation). Either one of the DP 125 and the DP 126 may be enteredfrom another type of view, such as a graph view or a digital view, byselection of the list view from a DP selector 127 in the other type ofview.

Each of the DP 125 and the DP 126 include the time-based indicator 128and a frame or data value indicator 129. As an example, the frame ordata value indicator 129 indicates 3,834 of 5,000 frames or data values.In some cases, the VST 40 may have received an identical number of datavalues for each VDP identified in the list view of VDP. In accordancewith those cases, the cursor positioner 130 can be moved to select adifferent frame or data value of the 5,000 frames or data values. Inother instances, the VST 40 may receive a different number of datavalues for two or more VDP identified in a list view of VDP. Inaccordance with these other cases, the cursor positioner 130 can bemoved to select a different frame or different value of the receivedframes or data values for a designated VDP. The data values for theother VDP can change to other data values in relation to the time atwhich the selected different frame or data value was received.

As shown in FIG. 10, a list view of VDP can include multiple VDP textidentifiers (e.g., VDP text identifier 131) and multiple VDP values(e.g., VDP value 132). A VOC indicator 133 is displayed for a VDP forwhich data values of that VDP breeched a VDP threshold (e.g., greaterthan an upper threshold or lower than a lower threshold). The processor23 can detect a drag-and-drop input of a VDP displayed in a list viewand move the VDP from its initial position when the drag-and-drop inputis initiated to a position that includes the location to which the VDPwas dragged and dropped by the drag-and-drop input.

The DP 125 and the DP 126 can include at least one scroll bar for entryof a scroll input that causes virtual VDP values not currently displayedby the DP 125 or the DP 126 to be displayed and to cause one or morecurrently displayed VDP values to be repositioned as a virtual VDP valuethat is not currently displayed by the DP 125 or the DP 126.

The processor 23 can execute program instructions of the CRPI 28 toprovide a VDP threshold selection display by the display 41. Theselection display can include selection of a VDP. The selection displaycan include a selection of at least one VDP threshold associated withthe selected VDP or the VDP threshold(s) can be selected by default uponselection of the VDP. The selection display can include a selection of aVOC indicator for a VDP or a VDP threshold or the VOC indicatorselection can be selected by default upon selection of the VDP or theVDP threshold.

FIG. 10 further shows VOC indicators 134, 135, 136, and 137 as examplesof VOC indicators displayable by the display 41 on the VST 40. As shownin FIG. 10 and in other figures, each VOC indicator can include a flagand flagpole icon, but the VOC indicators are not so limited.Furthermore, the display 41 can display the VOC indicators withdifferent colors or shading to indicate various characteristics withrespect to a VDP threshold or a VOC. In one respect, the VOC indicator134 includes an outlined flag (e.g., a white flag outlined in red) andthe VOC indicator 135 includes a solid flag (e.g. a red flag). Anoutlined flag can be displayed to indicate that a VDP threshold isarmed, but that the VDP values received for the VDP have not yetbreached the VDP threshold. A solid flag can be displayed to indicatethat a VDP value received for the VDP has breached an associated VDPthreshold that was armed. Arming a VDP threshold can occur by selectingthe VDP for display, by selecting a VDP threshold for a VDP, or byanother manner. Upon arming a VDP threshold, the processor 23 cancompare the VDP the VST receives to determine if the VDP is associatedwith the VDP threshold and whether it breaches the VDP threshold.

Additionally, the display 41 can display text associated with a VDP(e.g., a PID) in proximity to a VOC indicator. The display 41 candisplay the associated text in various ways to further indicate whethera VDP threshold has been breached. For example, the text associated withthe VDP can be blue when a VDP threshold is armed, but not yet breached,and the associated text can be red when the armed VDP threshold has beenbreached. The processor 23 can cause the associated text to changecolors in response to detecting the VDP threshold being breached.

In another respect, the VOC indicator 137 (e.g., a white flag) canindicate that a VDP high threshold has been breached, whereas the VOCindicator 136 (e.g., a gray shaded flag) can indicate that a VDP lowthreshold has been breached. In yet another respect, if VDP thresholdshave been set up and armed for multiple VDP, then a VOC indicator foreach VDP can be associated with a respective color or respective shadingto distinguish the VOC indicators for each of the multiple VDP. Othercolors, visual representations, and configurations are possible.

Next, FIG. 11 is a diagram depicting an example display presentation 140that can be provided by a display, such as the display 41 on the VST 40.The DP 140 includes a VDP graph window 141 with a VDP line graph 142 fora VDP identified by the VDP graph text 143. As such, the VDP graphwindow 141 includes the time-based indicator 144, the cursor positioner145, and the cursor 146, and further includes a digital VDP value 147that indicates a value of the VDP at the cursor 146. The VDP graphwindow includes thresholds that represent minimum and maximum values 148of the VDP displayed in the VDP line graph 142 or of the VDP stored inthe VDP for the VDP identified by the VDP graph text 143.

The VDP graph window 141 includes a threshold arm status icon 149. Thethreshold arm status icon 149 can include an empty flag icon (e.g., VOCindicator 134) when a threshold for the VDP indicated by the VDP graphtext 143 is not armed. The processor 23 may not compare data values ofthe received VDP to a VDP threshold when the threshold is not armed. TheVDP graph window 141 includes a lower threshold indicator 150 thatindicates a numeric value of the lower threshold of the VDP displayed inthe VDP graph window 141.

The VDP graph window 141 includes an upper threshold indicator 151 thatindicates a numeric value of the upper threshold of the VDP displayed inthe VDP graph window 141. The VDP graph window 141 includes a VOCindicator 152 associated with the upper threshold of the VDP and a VOCindicator 153 associated with the lower threshold of the VDP. Any onemore other VDP graph windows described herein can include one or more ofthe elements included within the DP 140.

Next, FIG. 12 is a diagram depicting an example display presentation 154that can be provided by a display, such as the display 41 on the VST 40or a graphical user interface on another computing system. The DP 154includes the VDP graph windows 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, and 160 withcorresponding VDP line graphs displaying parameters relating to a set ofassociated PIDs. For instance, the VDP graph window 155 includes the VDPline graph 161, the upper threshold indicator 162, and the lowerthreshold indicator 163, the VDP graph text 164, and the threshold armstatus icon 165. In the DP 154, the threshold arm status icon 165 caninclude a solid (i.e., un-empty) flag of a second icon color (e.g., red)to indicate that the VDP threshold associated with the VDP representedby the VDP line graph 161 is armed and has been breached at the VDPvalue 166 of the VDP line graph 161.

The value and color of the digital value 167 within the VDP graph window157 can change as the cursor positioner 145 is repositioned. Forexample, the color of the digital value 167 can be the same as the firstcolor of the threshold arm status icon 165 when the VDP thresholdassociated with that icon is not breached and can be the same as thesecond color of the threshold arm status icon 165 when the VDP thresholdassociated with that icon is breached. In one respect, the color of thedigital value can be the second color if the cursor positioner ispositioned at position representing a time when the VDP threshold wasinitially breached. In another respect, the color of the digital valuecan be the second color if the cursor positioner is positioned at aposition representing any time when the VDP threshold remained breached.The VDP graph text within the VDP graph window can be the same as colorof the digital value 167. The DP 154 includes the time-based indicatorand the cursor positioner 145.

Upon a VDP threshold for a PID being breached, a VOC indicator 169 canbe displayed in proximity to the time-based indicator 144. When the VOCindicator 169 is displayed in proximity to the time segment, the VDPvalue is displayed within the VDP graph window along with a VOCindicator bar 168. VOC indicator bars 168 are also displayed within theVDP graph windows to indicate a location with those VDP graph windowsthat corresponds to a time at which the VDP threshold was breached atthe VDP value. Any one more other VDP graph windows described herein caninclude one or more of the elements included within the DP 154.

FIG. 13 shows a flowchart depicting a set of functions 180 (or moresimply “the set 180”) that can be carried out in accordance with theexample embodiments described in this description. The set 180 includesthe functions shown in blocks labeled with whole numbers 181 through 186inclusive. The following description of the set 180 includes referencesto elements shown in other figures described in this description, butthe functions of the set 180 are not limited to being carried out onlyby the referenced elements. A variety of methods can be performed usingall of the functions shown in the set 180 or any proper subset of thefunctions shown in the set 180. Any of those methods can be performedwith other functions such as one or more of the other functionsdescribed in this description.

Block 181 includes receiving a first input from a first source duringoperation of a vehicle. The computing system 2 or another type ofcomputing system (e.g., smartphone, wearable computing system) mayreceive the first input as well as other inputs during operation of thevehicle. The first input and other inputs can correspond to user inputs,sensor data, or other forms of measurements.

The computing system 2 may receive inputs from various sources,including user interfaces, and internal and external sensors, amongothers sources. For example, the computing system 2 can receiveelectrical measurements, such as electrical current measurements orvoltage measurements from one or more sensors capturing measurementsduring operation of the vehicle.

As such, the computing system 2 may receive inputs using varioustechniques within examples. For instance, in some embodiments, thecomputing system 2 may receive a vocal input representing the firstinput (and other inputs from the user) from a microphone. Particularly,the microphone may be part of the computing system 2 or a correspondingdevice. For instance, the microphone can be an external microphone thata user positions on or inside the vehicle to capture audio, such asaudio provided by the user. As such, the computing system 2 may furtherdetermine text that represents the vocal input using speech recognition.The determined text and/or vocal input can be stored by the computingsystem 2 for subsequent access by the user, another user, or a system toanalyze. For instance, the computing system 2 may store determined textand/or vocal inputs in audio recordings 33 in memory 27.

In some examples, receiving the first input from a first source duringoperation of the vehicle can involve receiving a touch inputrepresenting the first input from a touchscreen interface. Similarly,the computing system 2 may receive the first input via a button input atan input interface.

In further examples, the computing system can receive the first inputfrom an external camera or a camera system in general. For instance, acamera can be part of a vehicle instrument panel cluster (IPC) that cancapture images or video of the dash, including when a malfunctionindicator lamp illuminates during the test drive. The first input canalso correspond to images or video of the driver and/or a view of thepath traveled (e.g., a forward facing camera). In some cases, thecomputing system can receive a combination of inputs from multiplecameras.

Block 182 includes, responsive to receiving the first input, determininga time of reception for the first input. The computing system 2 candetermine that the time of reception for the first input corresponds toa given time when the computing system 2 receives the first input fromthe first source.

In some examples, determining the time of reception for the first inputcan depend on the method of reception for the first input. For example,when the first input corresponds to a vocal input, the computing system2 may determine when the microphone detected and received the audioinput. When the vocal input is substantial in duration (e.g., over 30seconds), the computing system 2 may determine that the time ofreception corresponds to when the microphone initially started receivingthe vocal input, when the microphone completed receiving the vocalinput, or a middle portion of the vocal input, for example. In furtherexamples, the computing system 2 can include an option that allows auser to decide when the time of reception should be determined for vocalinputs that are substantial in duration.

In some instances, determining the time of reception for the first inputcan involve determining when the touchscreen interface associated withthe computing system 2 detected the touch input from the user.

Block 183 includes receiving a first set of parameters from the vehicle.The computing system 2 can receive vehicle data parameters (VDP) fromthe vehicle 8 via a wired or wireless connection. As such, the VDP mayrepresent information corresponding to a number of related PIDs thatform the set of associated PIDs. In some instances, the set ofassociated PIDs may be based on a PID index 68 received from the server4. In further examples, the set of associated PIDs may be based on auser selecting a set of PIDs within a request from the vehicle 8. Withinexamples, the association between PIDs can vary. For instance, theassociation between the PIDs can depend on particular vehicle operationsor predefined relationships between the PIDs. Other examples arepossible.

The PIDs can represent different operations of the vehicle. Forinstance, the PID value can include information indicating specifiedvalues of parameters associated with a vehicle component (e.g., sensorvalues).

In some examples, the computing system 2 can correspond to the VST 40described in FIG. 5 and can be configured to obtain the VDP from thevehicle 8 in the form of a vehicle data message (VDM) (e.g., a serialdata message). For instance, the VST 40 may use the DLC or anothercomponent to communicate with the vehicle 8 to obtain the VDP thatdescribe operations of the vehicle 8. As an example implementation, theVST 40 may receive the VDP from the vehicle 8 in the form of anelectrical signal.

In some examples, the computing system 2 can receive the first set ofparameters from an on-board diagnostics (OBD) II reporting system of thevehicle operating in OBD II, mode $01. In further examples, thecomputing system 2 can receive the first set of parameters from an OBDreporting system of the vehicle operating in OBD II, mode $02.Particularly, the first set of parameters can include sensor datarecorded at a given time of a detected fault of the vehicle. In furtherexamples, the computing system 2 can switch between receiving theparameters from the OBD II reporting system of the vehicle operating inmode 1, mode $02, and other OBD II modes.

Block 184 includes responsive to receiving the first set of parameters,determining a time of reception for each parameter of the first set ofparameters. Particularly, the computing system 2 can determine times ofreceptions for all (or a subset) of parameters of the first set ofparameters. The time of reception for each parameter can represent whenthe parameter occurred during operation of the vehicle.

Block 185 includes, based on the time of reception for the first inputand the time of reception for each parameter of the first set ofparameters, determining a first temporal position for an indicatorconfigured to represent the first input on a graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID. The indicator, for example,can be displayed as a vertical cursor on the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID.

In some examples, the computing system 2 may be the VST 40 representedin FIG. 5 or communicate with the VST 40. As such, the VST 40 maydetermine indicators displayable on one or more VDP line graphscorresponding to the first PID. For instance, the indicators can bedisplayed in various representations, such as vertical cursors or otherforms of indicators comprising particular information relating to PIDs.The indicators may be selectable via a cursor, touchscreen, or othermethod on the VST 40.

Block 186 includes displaying, on a display interface, the graph of thefirst set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with theindicator in the first temporal position. For example, the computingsystem 2 can display the indicator in the first temporal position suchthat the indicator is displayed at a beginning of a subset of parametersof the first set of parameters that correspond to the first PID. Inanother example, the computing system 2 can display the indicator in thefirst temporal position such that the indicator is displayed at an endof a subset of parameters of the first set of parameters that correspondto the first PID. In a further example, the computing system 2 candisplay the indicator in the first temporal position such that theindicator is displayed in between a subset of parameters of the firstset of parameters that correspond to the first PID.

The set of 180 can further include determining a threshold for the firstPID, and determining a temporal position for a second indicator thatrepresents a parameter corresponding to the first PID breaching thethreshold for the first PID. Particularly, the second indicator maycorrespond to a vertical line or another type of visual symbol. As such,when the computing system 2 displays the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID with the indicator in thefirst temporal position, the computing system 2 may further display thegraph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID withthe second indicator and the indicator arranged on the graph based on atemporal order that depends on the temporal position for the secondindicator and the first temporal position for the indictor.

In some examples, the set 180 may further include additional operations,such as receiving a selection of the indicator configured to representthe first user input. A user servicing the vehicle may review and selectpreviously provided user inputs. As such, in response to receiving aselection of a given indicator representing a user input (e.g., thefirst user input), the computing system 2 or corresponding device maydisplay information related to the selected user input, such as text therepresents the vocal input associated with the user input. For example,when the computing system 2 detects a selection of a user input thatincludes a corresponding text description, the computing system 2 candisplay the text in a popup box or another format enabling a user toreview the text. The computing system 2 may further store andsubsequently display edited text, which can be associated with theoriginal user input in memory.

In further examples, displaying text associated with a user input (e.g.,text determined via speech recognition from an audio input provided by auser during vehicle operation) can involve providing options to edit thetext. As a result, the original user or another user can edit the text,including adding additional notes or explanation regarding the originaluser input. In some examples, the computing system 2 may also enabletext threads to be created regarding an original user input. A textthread may allow multiple users to contribute text regarding a userinput, such as a linear thread that captures dates when each additionwas contributed to the text thread. This way, multiple users can reviewuser inputs, add notes regarding the user inputs, and these notes can besaved and stored as a linear progression over time.

In some examples, the set of 180 can further involve determining asymbol that corresponds to the indicator based on determining thetemporal position for the indicator configured to represent the firstinput on the graph of the first set of parameters corresponding to thefirst PID. Particularly, the symbol may represent the first input andcan depend on various factors, such as information included within thefirst input. As such, the computing system 2 may further display thesymbol relative to a graph view slider on a display interface. Forinstance, the computing system 2 can display the symbol at a positionrelative to the graph view slider that is based on the temporal positionfor the indicator. Further, the graph view slider can be configurable tomodify a view of the graph of the first set of parameters correspondingto the first PID. As a result, the computing system 2 can receive aselection of the symbol that correspond to the indicator andresponsively modify a view of the graph of the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID such that the view of the graph displaysa portion of the graph that includes the indicator that represents thefirst user input.

The computing system 2 can further include additional inputs. Forinstance, the computing system 2 can receive a second input from asecond source during operation of the vehicle. Responsive to receivingthe second input, the computing system 2 can determine a time ofreception for the second input. As such, the computing system 2 candetermine a second temporal position for a second indicator configuredto represent the second input on the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID based on the time of receptionfor the first input, the time of reception for the second input, and thetime of reception for each parameter of the first set of parameters. Asa result, the computing system 2 can display the graph of the first setof parameters corresponding to the first PID with the indicator in thefirst temporal position and the second indicator in the second temporalposition on the display interface.

In additional examples, the computing system 2 can receive indicationsof particular inputs. For example, during operation of a vehicle, thecomputing system 2 may provide multiple options to a user to utilize toprovide or capture inputs that can be stored and subsequently reviewedby the user (or another user) during servicing the vehicle. Toillustrate, a touchscreen interface of the computing system 2 mayinclude various options, such as options to specify the degree ofurgency associated with each input. For instance, the interface canenable a user to specify when an input is important resulting in thecomputing system 2 storing the input and subsequently displaying theinput with a symbol that represents the importance. Similarly, theinterface can also include enable a user to specify when a input has alow degree of urgency causing the computing system 2 to later associateand display these inputs with a different symbol that represents theirlow level of importance.

In other examples, the computing system 2 can further include an optionto review a log that represents all (or a subset) of inputs capturedduring one or multiple rounds of operation by a vehicle in a temporalorder. As a result, the user can determine different information about atest operation of a vehicle using the log, such as whether the user orsensors provided more inputs during a particular portion of the testoperation than other portions of the test operation. This can thenenable the user to focus upon inputs and VDP graphs during a particularperiod of a test operation. In addition, the computing system 2 canprovide options to associate particular tests (e.g., component tests,functional tests, and reset procedures) with inputs. For example, a usercan select and assign a test to an input upon reviewing the input. Insome instances, the server 4 or the computing system 2 can select andassign a test to an input after analyzing the input.

In some examples, the computing system 2 can be coupled to the vehicleduring performance of one or more blocks of the set of 180.Particularly, the computing system 2 can be coupled to the vehicle via awired connection or a wireless connection. In some instances, thecomputing system 2 can be coupled to the vehicle during a subset of theblocks of the set of 180.

In further examples, the computing system 2 can programmatically performone or more functional tests on the vehicle 8. For example, thecomputing system 2 can perform one or more functional tests after a testdrive of the vehicle 8. The functional tests performed by the computingsystem 2 can depend on certain conditions detected by the computingsystem 2 during the test drive. The computing system 2 could beconfigured to initiate one or more functional tests upon detecting thecompletion of the test drive and in response to determining that thevehicle 8 is in a state suitable for the functional tests.

In some examples, the computing system 2 can perform one or morefunctional tests during a test drive of the vehicle 8. For example,prior to the test drive, the computing system 2 can display a list ofone or more functional tests to be performed during the test drive ifthe computing system 2 detects certain conditions. In this way, a driverof the vehicle can be made aware of which functional test(s) may beperformed to avoid being surprised during the test drive. The certainconditions detected by the computing system 2 can include precautionaryconditions that ensure the functional tests are performed safely. Forexample, the computing system 2 could require the vehicle 8 to be in aninitial state before starting and performing a functional test (e.g.,the vehicle 8 is stationary with the brakes applied). The initial stateof the vehicle 8 required by the computing system 2 before performing afunctional test could depend on the type of functional test performed.As such, the computing system 2 can be configured to stop performing afunctional test upon detecting a change in the conditions that permitsthe performance of the functional (e.g., the brakes are no longerapplied). The conditions can depend on sensor data from a variety ofvehicle sensors or other types of sensors communicating with thecomputing system 2.

In addition, the computing system 2 can include a prompt to have thedriver acknowledge the functional test(s) to be performed during thetest drive prior to performing the functional test(s). Furthermore, thecomputing system 2 can be programmed such that a functional test wouldnot be performed during a test drive when certain conditions are met(e.g., the vehicle is in motion). System software associated with thecomputing system 2 (e.g., instructions of the CRPI 28) can drop flagsduring the test drive that enable a user to review thesoftware-initiated flags after completion of the test drive. Inaddition, the computing system 2 may initiate a functional test based onsensor data. For example, the computing system 2 may review and analyzesensor data and PID data (e.g., a PID threshold breach) to determine afunctional test to perform. In some examples, the computing system 2 canperform a mass air flow sensor test, power on or off headlights, and/orpower on or off other sensors, such as cameras, microphones, etc.

In further examples, capturing information regarding operation of one ormore systems may involve a sensor or sensors analyzing wheel speed PIDsand identifying when one or more PIDs vary by a significant amount(e.g., a threshold speed). These measurements may enable a user tosubsequently detect vehicle turns during review of PIDs or when tires onthe vehicle have different sizes possibly due to improper tire inflationor wear.

In another example, a camera can detect a threshold breach andsubsequently provide an image to the computing system 2. For example, athermal camera can detect temperatures at a vehicle component thatexceed typical temperatures for the component. As a result, the thermalcamera can capture and provide thermal images to the computing system 2.The computing system 2 could note the location of the vehicle using GPSor another sensor upon receiving the thermal image from the thermalcamera. This way, the user could analyze the vehicle location along withthe thermal image when reviewing operation of the vehicle during thetest drive. In other examples, the computing system 2 can also captureone or more related PID value(s) upon receiving the thermal image fromthe thermal camera. In some instances, a user may be prompted or allowedto preselect a component so that the computing system 2 selects PIDs forthe component in such a situation. Further, the thermal camera oranother camera could be aimed at the preselected component prior to thestart of the test drive. Similar examples may involve other sensorscommunicating to trigger and obtain measurements and PIDs related tooperations of the vehicle.

Additional methods including the functions of set 180 can be performedto display and use PID graph indicators.

A first additional method including the functions of the set 180includes: receiving, by the computing system, a selection of theindicator configured to represent the first user input; and responsiveto receiving the selection of the indicator, displaying, by thecomputing system on the display interface, the text that represents thevocal input. For instance, the computing system 2 can receive vocalinputs representing one or multiple user inputs and correspondingdetermine text to subsequently display for these user inputs.

A second additional method including the functions of the set 180includes: (i) based on determining the temporal position for theindicator configured to represent the first user input on the graph ofthe first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID, determininga symbol that corresponds to the indicator; and (ii) displaying, by thecomputing system on the display interface, the symbol relative to agraph view slider, wherein the symbol is displayed at a positionrelative to the graph view slider that is based on the temporal positionfor the indicator, and wherein the graph view slider is configurable tomodify a view of the graph of the first set of parameters correspondingto the first PID. The second additional method can further include: (i)receiving, at the computing system, a selection of the symbol thatcorresponds to the indicator; and (ii) responsive to the receiving theselection of the symbol, modifying a view of the graph of the first setof parameters corresponding to the first PID such that the view of thegraph displays a portion of the graph that includes the indicator thatrepresents the first user input.

A third additional method including the functions of the set 180includes: (i) determining, by the computing system, a threshold for thefirst PID; (ii) determining, by the computing system, a temporalposition for a second indicator that represents a parametercorresponding to the first PID breaching the threshold for the firstPID; and (iii) wherein displaying, by the computing system on thedisplay interface, the graph of the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID with the indicator in the first temporalposition comprises: displaying the graph of the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID with the second indicator and theindicator arranged on the graph based on a temporal order that dependson the temporal position for the second indicator and the first temporalposition for the indictor.

FIG. 14 is a diagram representing depicting an example displaypresentation 190. As shown, the display presentation 190 includes afirst VDP line graph 191, a second VDP line graph 192, a third VDP linegraph 193, and a fourth VDP line graph 194. The display presentation 190also includes a graph view slider 195 with a selector 196 that enables auser to modify a view of the VDP line graphs 191-194. In addition, thedisplay presentation 190 also includes symbol indicators 197-201.

The display presentation 190 can represent a display that the computingsystem 2 might display via performing one or more blocks of the set 180.For example, the computing system 2 can receive user inputs duringoperation of a vehicle and responsively formulate the displaypresentation 190 for the user after obtaining VDP from the vehicle. Inparticular, the computing system 2 can determine a temporal position foreach symbol indicator (e.g., symbol indicator 198, 200) that representsuser inputs relative to other symbol indicators (e.g., symbol indicators197, 199, 201) that represent vehicle information related to PIDs (e.g.,threshold breaches).

The display presentation 190 shows multiple VDP line graphs 191-194.Each VDP line graph can represent different PIDs corresponding tovarious systems of a vehicle. In other examples, VDP line graphs 191-194can all represent different aspects of the same PID or same vehiclesystem. Other examples are possible.

Each VDP line graph 191-194 can express vehicle information (e.g., VDP)related to a duration of time. Particularly, the VDP line graphs 191-194can all represent different VDP or vehicle information that correspondto the same time frame of operation of the vehicle. The graph viewslider 195 can modify the view of all (or a subset) of the VDP linegraphs 191-194 by adjusting the position of the selector 196. Forexample, sliding the selector 196 forward (i.e., to the right) on thegraph view slider 195 can cause all (or a subset) of the VDP line graphs191-194 to display VDP or other vehicle information at a more recenttime period than the time period currently represented by the VDP linegraphs 191-194. Similarly, sliding the selector 196 backward (i.e., tothe left) on the graph view slider 195 can cause all (or a subset) ofthe VDP line graphs 191-194 to display VDP or other vehicle informationat a prior time period than the time period currently represented by theVDP line graphs 191-194. In some examples, the computing system 2 canenable a user to select a particular VDP line graph to only modify theview of the selected VDP line graph using the selector 196 and the graphview slider 195.

In some examples, the symbol indicators 197-201 can each have acorresponding indicator positioned on a VDP line graphs 191-194 at agiven time that each symbol indicator 197-201 represents. For example,the symbol indicator 197 might represent a threshold breach of athreshold determined for a given PID. As such, on the VDP graphrepresenting the PID, the symbol indicator 197 can have an indicator(e.g., a vertical line) when the breach occurred. In turn, the computingsystem 2 could automatically display an indicator on a VDP line graph(e.g., modify the time period represented by the VDP line graph todisplay a time frame that includes the indicator) in response todetecting a selection of the corresponding symbol indicator by the user.For instance, in response to detecting a selection of symbol indicator199 representing a breach, the computing system 2 can modify the timeframe of one or multiple VDP line graphs such that the indicatorrepresenting the time of occurrence of the breach is shown on the one ormore VDP line graphs.

In further examples, selection of a symbol indicator representing a userinput (e.g., symbol indicator 198, 200) can cause the computing system 2to modify the view displayed by one or more VDP line graphs 191-194. Forexample, the computing system 2 can detect a selection of the symbolindicator 200 by a user and responsively cause the VDP line graphs191-194 to display a time frame that encompasses the time of receptionof the user input represented by the symbol indicator 200. Similarly,detection of a user selection of the symbol indicator 198 representing adifferent user input can cause the computing system 2 to modify the VDPline graphs 191-194 (or a subset of the VDP line graphs) to display atime frame that encompasses the time of reception of that user input.This way, a user can quickly review user inputs. In further examples,selection of symbol indicators representing user inputs (e.g., thesymbol indicators 198, 200) can cause text, audio, or other informationrelated to the original user input to be displayed (e.g., in a popupbox).

FIG. 15 is a diagram representing depicting another example displaypresentation 210. Particularly, the display presentation 210 can bedisplayed in response to a user sliding the selector 196 of the graphview slider 195 shown in the display presentation 190 of FIG. 14 to showthe symbol indicator 200 representing a user input. As a result, thedisplay presentation 210 is displaying the popup box 212 that includestext 214 and a time of capture 216. In some instances, the popup box 212may be displayed on the display presentation 210 while one or more VDPgraphs are also displayed on the display presentation 210.Alternatively, the computing system 2 can present the displaypresentation 210 in response to detecting a selection of the symbolindicator 200 representing the user input. More specifically, inresponse to detecting the selection (e.g., via a touchscreen interface),the computing system 2 can cause the selector 196 to switch positions onthe graph view slider 195 to reflect the selection of the symbolindicator 200 along with causing the popup box 212 to display.

The popup box 212 represents an example implementation of the computingsystem 2 displaying information relating to a user input. As discussedabove, user inputs can be provided to the computing system (or anassociated device) by a user during a test drive of the vehicle or atanother point (e.g., by a user after the user services the vehicle). Thepopup box 212 can include various information related to the user input,including text 214 provided by the user and the time of capture 216 forthe user input (e.g., when the computing system 2 or associated deviceinitially received the user input represented by the symbol indicator200). The text 214 can represent text manually provided by the user atthe time of capture 216 or can correspond to text formulated via speechrecognition based on a vocal input provided by the user. For instance,the user can provide a vocal input during operation of the vehicle thatthe computing system 2 can use speech recognition to determine the text214 based on the vocal input. In further examples, the popup box 212 caninclude an option to replay the vocal input or other form of user input.

FIG. 16 is a diagram depicting a further example display presentation220. The display presentation 220 may be displayed in response to a usersliding the selector 196 of the graph view slider 195 shown in thedisplay presentation 190 of FIG. 14 or the display presentation 210 ofFIG. 15 to show information corresponding to the symbol indicator 198representing a user input. As a result, the display presentation 220 isdisplaying information related to a time period associated with thesymbol indicator 198. The time period may cover an amount of timerepresented by the black part of the selector 196 of the graph viewslider 195. In another example, the time period may cover a time periodthat encompasses the vocal input corresponding to text 232, which isrepresented by the symbol indicator 198. For example, the time periodmay begin at the time of capture of the vocal input and end when thevocal input was completed. The time period may also include some buffertime around the time that the vocal input was received. The displaypresentation 220 further includes a popup box 222, a first VDP linegraph 224, and a second VDP line graph 226.

The popup box 222 includes text 232 and a time of capture 234. In someinstances, the popup box 222 may be displayed in the displaypresentation 220 to represent text 232 corresponding to an audio inputreceived at a microphone of the computing system 2 and/or a microphonesystem connected to the computing system 2. As such, the popup box 222represents an example implementation of the computing system 2displaying information relating to a user input.

As discussed above, user inputs can be provided to the computing system(or an associated device) by a user during a test drive of the vehicleor at another point (e.g., by a user after the user services thevehicle). The popup box 222 can include various information related tothe user input, including text 232 provided by the user and the time ofcapture 234 for the user input (e.g., when the computing system 2 orassociated device initially received the user input represented by thesymbol indicator 198). The text 232 can represent text manually providedby the user at the time of capture 234 or can correspond to textformulated via speech recognition based on a vocal input provided by theuser. For instance, the user can provide a vocal input during operationof the vehicle that the computing system 2 can use speech recognition todetermine the text 232 based on the vocal input. In further examples,the popup box 222 can include an option to replay the vocal input orother form of user input.

The first VDP line graph 224 and the second VDP line graph 226 representinformation related to PIDs or other vehicle operations that correspondto a time period starting at the time of capture 234 associated with theuser input represented by the symbol indicator 198. A user may reviewthe first VDP line graph 224 and the second VDP line graph 226 toanalyze vehicle operations during the time period that the user alsoprovided the user input corresponding to the symbol indicator 198. Inother examples, the display presentation 220 may display additionalgraphs, including providing options for a user to adjust which VDPgraphs are displayed.

FIG. 17 is a table 250 depicting example PID 252, PID parameters 254,reception times 256, and user inputs 258 that can be stored in a memory,such as the memory 27, 62. In particular, the memory 27 can, but neednot necessarily, store at least some of the data within the table 250within the PID Values/PID Index 34, and/or the memory can, but need notnecessarily, store at least some of the data within the table 250 withinthe diagnostic list 66. The processor 23, 60 can parse VDM received fromthe vehicle 8 to obtain the PID and PID parameters and determine areception time indicating when each VDM including the PID and PIDparameter was received at the computing system 2. The processor 23, ormore generally the computing system 2, can include a clock to determinethe reception time(s) for receiving the VDM as well as any user inputsto be associated with a VDM and/or a PID and PID parameter. The table250 show the PID 252, the PID parameters 254, and the reception times256 as decimal values and the user inputs 258 as alphanumericcharacters. The memory 27, 62 can store PID, PID parameters, receptiontimes and/or user inputs in some other format, such as binary and/orhexadecimal values. A memory can, but need not necessary, store PID, PIDparameters, reception times, and/or user inputs in a tabular format.

The user inputs 258 include a user input 260 corresponding to areception time 12:34.59.8. In some examples, reception times 256 maycorrespond to start times when the PID or user input was initiallyreceived. For example, the time “12:34.59.8” listed in a column with thereception times 256 for the user input 260 may represent the startingmoment when the beginning of the user input 260 was provided. In otherexamples, the times listed in the reception times 256 may correspond toan average time that indicates an average of when the PID or user inputoccurred. Further, the times listed in the reception times 256 mayrepresent when the PID or the user input was fully-received. Thecomputing system 2 can store other data as part of a reception time,such as data representing a day, month, and year.

The computing system 2 can receive and generate the user input 260 basedon use of the user interfaces 26. For example, the user input 260 cancorrespond to a vocal input that is transcribed to text using speechrecognition. Additionally and/or alternatively, the user input 230 cancorrespond to other forms of input, such as a button push, a detectedmotion, or text. After receiving the user input 260, the computingsystem 2 can output the user input 230 on the display 41 so that a usercan view the user input 260 with respect to a reception time and PID andPID parameters received proximate to that reception time.

FIG. 18 is a diagram of a further example display presentation 270. Thedisplay presentation 270 includes a VDP window 280 that includes VDPline graph 278 corresponding to PID 1. The VDP line graph 278 includesmultiple indicators, such as indicator 282, indicator 284, indicator286, and indicator 288, and further includes a cursor bar 290. In someexamples, the color or style of the indicators 282-288 can depend onwhich PID each indicator pertains to, or whether a given indicatorrepresents a user input, a threshold breach, or other vehicleinformation, etc.

The display presentation 270 further includes popup box 272 shownpositioned to the side of the VDP window 280. The computing system 2(e.g., the VST 40) may display the popup box 272 automatically or candisplay it in response to a selection of an indicator on the VDP linegraph 278. For instance, the computing system 2 can modify theinformation displayed in the popup box 272 in response to detecting aselection of the indicator 282 in an example where the indicator 282corresponds to a user input. After receiving the selection of theindicator 282, the computing system 2 can cause the popup box 272 to bedisplayed on a display interface (e.g., the display 41 of the VST 40) toshow information corresponding to the user input (e.g., text 274representing the user input and a time of capture 276.

The indicators 282-288 can each represent a variety of informationrelated to the vehicle, such as breaches of PID 1 or another PID or userinputs previously provided by a user. As such, selection of one of theindicators 282-288 can modify the information displayed in the displaypresentation 270. Further, the cursor bar 290 may be a movable cursorthat a user can select and move to alter the time frame depicted by theVDP line graph 278. In addition, the computing system 2 may furtherdisplay the indicators with corresponding VOCs (e.g., flags) thatrepresent information associated with each indicator. For instance, theVOCs may signal breaches of a threshold associated with the displayedPID or another PID.

FIG. 19 is a diagram depicting another example display presentation 300.The display presentation 300 includes VDP line graph 302, VDP line graph312, thermal camera image 322, and map display 324. The displaypresentation 300 further includes the graph view slider 344 configuredto modify the time period and corresponding vehicle information shown indisplay presentation 300.

The VDP line graph 302 may represent information related to PID name 308and is shown with indicators 304, 306 and corresponding PID description(i.e., PID name 308 and PID value 310). The indicators 304, 306 can eachrepresent a variety of information related to the vehicle, such asbreaches of PID name 308 or another PID or user inputs previouslyprovided by a user. Similarly, the VDP line graph 312 may representinformation related to PID name 318 and is shown with indicator 314 andcorresponding PID information (i.e., PID name 318 and PID value 320).

In some examples, the VDP line graph 302 and the VDP line graph 312 mayrepresent information related to PID name 308 and PID name 318,respectively, during the same time frame. As a result, VDP line graph302 and VDP line graph 312 can be compared directly to determineinformation related to operation of the vehicle during that time. Forexample, VDP line graph 312 includes spike 316 that occurs at the sametime of indicator 306 in VDP line graph 302.

Thermal camera image 322 represents images that can be captured by athermal camera during operation of the vehicle. Thermal camera image 322can represent thermal data captured during the test drive related to theengine or other components of the vehicle. In some examples, othersensor data may be displayed in display presentation 300. For example,the display presentation 300 may include audio links (e.g., selectableicons for listening to previously recorded sounds from a microphonesystem or audio inputs from the user), images from cameras, orspecialized sensor measurements.

Map display 324 includes information related to route 326 driven duringthe test drive. Map display 324 includes route 326 that starts fromstart point 328 and ends at end point 330. Route 326 further showsvehicle position 342 that represents a location of the vehicle duringthe time represented by VDP line graph 302 and VDP line graph 312. Assuch, a user may select another vehicle position on map display 324 oran icon to view vehicle information that occurred at that time. Mapdisplay 324 may help identify particular portions of route 326 thatvehicle may operate less desirably. For example, icons 334, 336, and 338may represent locations where the vehicle struggled to performadequately due to road conditions (e.g., uphill travel).

Map display 324 can incorporate GPS measurements to indicate a positionof the vehicle throughout the route 326. For instance, the GPSmeasurements can specify when the computing system 2 should place icons332, 334, 336, 338, and 340 representing inputs received at thecomputing system 2 during operation of the vehicle. The computing system2 can also incorporate time stamps along with the GPS measurements whenreceiving inputs for further annotation of graphs and displayingmeasurements in other formats.

As shown in FIG. 19, route 326 further includes icons 332, 334, 336,338, and 340. Each icon 332-340 represents the location of the vehicleon route 326 when the event represented by the given icon occurred. Forexample, icon 340 represents where the vehicle was in route 326 when auser provided a voice input to computing system 2. Selection of icon 340by a user may cause computing system 2 to display PID information, thevoice input, thermal camera images, or other sensor information thatcorresponds to operations of the vehicle at the time the voice input wasprovided. A user may select any of the icons 332-340 or another portionof the route 326 or map display 324 to cause the display presentation300 to display information related to the selection, which may involvedisplaying information related to a particular time of capture duringoperation of the vehicle.

To further illustrate, icon 332 can represent a PID flag. As such,selection of icon 332 can cause the computing system 2 to displayinformation for a time period during route 326 when vehicle operationcaused a PID threshold breach corresponding to icon 332. In anotherexample, icon 332 or another icon may represent user flags or otherinformation that occurred during the test drive of the vehicle.

Icons 332-340 further include corresponding icons positioned on thegraph view slider 344. The graph view slider 344 can modify the view ofall (or a subset) of the VDP line graphs 302, 312 (or other VDP linegraphs, sensor images, etc.) by adjusting the position of the selector346. For example, sliding the selector 346 forward (i.e., to the right)on the graph view slider 344 can display presentation 300 to display VDPor other vehicle information at a more recent time period than the timeperiod currently represented. Similarly, sliding the selector 346backward (i.e., to the left) on the graph view slider 344 can cause all(or a subset) of the VDP or other vehicle information at a prior timeperiod to be displayed than the time period currently represented. Insome instances, the selector 346 can correspond to a single session time(e.g., one test drive route driven by the vehicle). As such, thecomputing system 2 can enable the user to select other selectors to viewother sessions during which the computing system 2 received inputsrepresenting operations of the vehicle. In some examples, the computingsystem 2 can enable a user to select a particular time or one of theicons 332-340 to modify the time period of vehicle informationdisplayed.

In other words, changing a position of the graph view slider 344 canchange a display presentation from showing information associated with afirst time and first time period to showing information associated witha second time and second time period. As an example, changing a positionof the graph view slider 344 can cause a display presentation to show asecond thermal image instead of a first thermal image, to indicate asecond position on the map display 324 instead of a first position,and/or to show VDP graphs for PIDs associated with PID names 308, 318covering the second time period instead of the first time period.

FIG. 20 is a diagram depicting a further example display presentation347. The display presentation 347 is similar to the display presentation300 depicted in FIG. 19, but includes microphone data 348 rather mapdisplay 324. Similar to the display presentation 300, the displaypresentation 347 shown in FIG. 20 also includes the graph view slider344 configured to modify the time period and corresponding vehicleinformation shown in display presentation 347. Other displaypresentations may include any of the information shown in the displaypresentation 300 and the display presentation 347 arranged in otherconfigurations.

The computing system 2 may enable different sections displayed in thedisplay presentation 347 to be modified. Particularly, the modificationscan occur automatically or based on inputs provided by a user. Forinstance, the computing system 2 can provide an interface that enables auser to provide inputs to move around each section, resize the sections,remove or add sections from the display presentation 347. In addition,the computing system 2 may provide an option or multiple options thatenable user inputs containing annotations to be provided on the displaypresentation 347 and other graphs or measurements displayed by thecomputing system 2. For instance, the computing system 2 can provideinterface tools that enable a user to provide inputs to highlight, addtext, provide other graphical annotations upon the various inputs,graphs, and other information displayed.

In addition, the computing system 2 can receive additional data that canserve to supplement inputs received from various sources. For example,the computing system 2 can receive data that indicates times of capturefor the inputs and where the vehicle was positioned according to GPScoordinates when the inputs were captured. The additional data can alsoindicate how to play back or display inputs. For instance, the computingsystem 2 can receive data that associates a thermal camera image with atime stamp indicating when the thermal image was captured. Further, ifthe thermal camera image was part of a video, the additional data canindicate time stamps in the video that specify changes in the thermalcamera images in the video. The computing system 2 can provide aninterface that enables a user to provide inputs to quickly changebetween different images in the video using the variety of time stampsor the selector 346. In response to receiving an input, the computingsystem 2 may alternate the information displayed, including switchingbetween different images or sensor measurements provided by one or moresources.

The microphone data 348 corresponds to audio data captured by one ormore microphones associated with the computing system 2. For example,the microphone data 348 can correspond to audio data captured by amicrophone system positioned in a portion of the vehicle (e.g., theBlue-Point® electronic squeak and rattle finder). The microphone data348 can represent different audio captured during a test drive, such asengine knocking or sounds originating from the shocks or other parts ofthe vehicle, etc. In other instances, the microphone data 348 couldrepresent audio inputs provided by a user during a test drive.

As shown in FIG. 20, the microphone data 348 further includes indicators350, 352 that can represent a time period associated with other PIDsdisplayed in the display presentation 347. The indicators can correspondto the time of capture of sound measurements by one or more microphones.In other examples, the indicators can represent to moments during audiocapture by the microphone(s) where the audio exceeded a thresholddecibel level. Further, the microphone data 348 also shows PIDinformation (i.e., PID name 354 and PID value 356). The PID informationcan assist a user when reviewing the microphone data 348 along withother information presented in the display presentation 347. In someexamples, the computing system 2 can enable the user to change which PIDthe microphone data 348 represents through selection of the PID name 354and selecting another PID or by modifying the position of the indicators350, 352 to modify the audio represented in the microphone data 348.

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart depicting a set of functions 400 (or moresimply “the set 400”) that can be carried out in accordance with theexample embodiments described in this description. The set 400 includesthe functions shown in blocks labeled with whole numbers 401 through 407inclusive. The following description of the set 400 includes referencesto elements shown in other figures described in this description, butthe functions of the set 400 are not limited to being carried out onlyby the referenced elements. A variety of methods can be performed usingall of the functions shown in the set 400 or any proper subset of thefunctions shown in the set 400. Any of those methods can be performedwith other functions such as one or more of the other functionsdescribed in this description.

Block 401 includes receiving a first input captured by the first sourceduring operation of a vehicle. The computing system 2 or another type ofcomputing system (e.g., smartphone, wearable computing system, or theVST 40) may receive the first input as well as other inputs duringoperation of the vehicle. The first input and other inputs cancorrespond to user inputs, sensor data, or other forms of inputsprovided by one or more sources. These inputs may correspond tomeasurements and information that differ from VDP received from avehicle data bus, such as an OBD II bus.

The computing system 2 may receive inputs from various sources,including user interfaces, and internal and external sensors, amongothers sources. The various sources may include sources are thatoperatively connected to the computing system 2. Operatively connectedmay indicate that a sensor and another type of source is capable ofcommunicating with the computing system 2, but not necessarily in fixedcommunication with the computing system 2. These sources may bewirelessly or wired connected. In some examples, the sources may beoperatively coupled by a technician or another user. As such, the firstsource may provide various inputs to the computing system 2. Forexample, the computing system 2 can receive electrical measurements,such as electrical current measurements or voltage measurements from oneor more sensors capturing measurements during operation of the vehicle.

In some examples, receiving the first input captured by the first sourceduring operation of the vehicle includes receiving an indication of theparticular system of the vehicle. Particularly, the indication mayderive from the first source capturing the first input. For example, theindication may specify the particular system based on the location ofthe first source, the sensor data obtained by the first source, aninitial set up by the user, or another factor. The computing system 2may also determine the particular system measured by the first inputbased on an analysis of the information within the first input.

Block 402 includes responsive to receiving the first input, determininga first time range for the first input. The computing system 2 oranother system may determine the first time range for the first inputreceived from the first source. The time range for the first input maybe the duration over which the first input was captured by the firstsource. For instance, when the first source is a microphone and thefirst input is audio captured by the microphone, the first time rangemay correspond to the time over which the microphone captured the audio.

Block 403 includes receiving a second input captured by the secondsource during operation of the vehicle. The computing system 2 mayreceive the second input from a second source operatively connected tothe computing system 2. The second input may correspond to theparticular system of the vehicle. As a result, the first input and thesecond input may both specify information regarding operation of thesame particular system of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the second source may differ from the first source.For example, the first source may be a temperature sensor and the secondsource may be a thermal camera. In another example, the first source maybe a microphone system and the second source may be a portable camera.In a further example, the first source is a user interface and thesecond source is a vehicle sensor. In other examples, the second sourceand the first source may be the same source.

In some embodiments, the second source may capture the second input inresponse to a triggering event. The triggering event may derive from thecomputing system 2, the first source, or another component associatedwith the vehicle. For instance, the computing system 2 may transmit asignal to the second source to trigger capture of the second input. Thecomputing system 2 may transmit the signal in response to receiving thefirst input. The signal may include the indication of the particularsystem of the vehicle. This way, the second source may actively measurethe particular system to obtain the second input. In some examples, thecomputing system 2 may receive an indication of the particular system ofthe vehicle along with the second input captured by the second source.This way, the computing system 2 may identify that the first input andsecond input measure aspects of the same particular system of thevehicle. In other examples, the second source may capture the secondinput in response to the first source capturing the first input. Forexample, the second source may receive an indication from the firstsource to capture an input. In another example, the computing system 2may cause the second source to capture the input in response to thefirst source providing the first input to the computing system 2.

Block 404 includes responsive to receiving the second input, determininga second time range for the second input. The computing system 2 oranother system may determine the second time range for the second input.The second time range may represent the duration over which the secondinput was captured by the second source.

In some examples, the second time range may overlap the first timerange. In such a situation, the first source may be capturing the firstinput while the second source is capturing the second input. In otherexamples, the second time range does not overlap with the first timerange. In such a situation, the first source may complete obtaining thefirst input prior to the second source starting to capture the secondinput.

Block 405 includes receiving a first set of parameters from the vehicle.The first set of parameters may correspond to a first parameteridentifier (PID) associated with operation of the particular system ofthe vehicle during a third time range. The third time range may includethe first time range and the second time range. Particularly, the thirdtime range may be a duration of time long enough to include at leastpart of the first time range associated with the first input and thesecond time range associated with the second input. This way, thecomputing system may determine a temporal order for the first input andthe second input relative to the different parameters that correspond tothe PID.

In some examples, the computing system 2 may receive the first set ofparameters from the vehicle during operation of the vehicle. As such,the computing system 2 may receive the first set of parameters, thefirst input, and the second input during a duration represented by thethird time range.

Block 406 includes determining a graph representing the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID associated with operation ofthe particular system of the vehicle during the third time range and aset of indicators. The set of indicators may include a first indicatorthat represents at least a portion of the first time range of the firstinput and a second indicator that represents at least a portion of thesecond time range of the second input.

The computing system 2 may determine multiple graphs or otherarrangements to show information captured within the inputs and thefirst set of parameters. The indicators may be determined and used torepresent inputs. For instance, a first indicator may represent thefirst input received from the first source and may have a position onthe graph that aligns with the first time range. The first indicator maybe positioned to represent the beginning of the first time range, themiddle, or the end of the first time range. In some examples, the firstindicator may include another corresponding indicator to represent thefirst input. In such an example, the first indicator may represent thebeginning of the first time range and the corresponding indicator mayrepresenting the end of the first time range on the graph. The secondinput may be similarly represented by one or more indicators on thegraph as well. Further, in embodiments involving additional inputs(e.g., a third input, a fourth input), more indicators may be determinedand displayed on the graph to represent the inputs.

Each indicator may be selectable such that selection of the indicatorresults in the computing system displaying information related to theinput represented by the selected indicator. For example, selection ofthe first indicator may trigger the computing system to show informationcorresponding to the first input, such as measurements of the firstinput, text, images, or audio associated with the first input, and anindication of the first source. Other information can be shown inresponse to the selection of an indicator.

Block 407 includes displaying the graph representing the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID with the set of indicators.The computing system 2 may display the graph on a display interface. Forexample, the computing system 2 may display a graph as shown in FIG. 20.

In some examples, the computing system 2 may further receive a selectionof the first indicator. Based on receiving the selection of the firstindicator, the computing system 2 may display a representation of thefirst input on the display interface. For example, the computing system2 may display images captured by the first source. The representation ofthe first input may include an indication of the first source. In someexamples, the computing system 2 may also receive a second selection ofthe second indicator. In response, the computing system 2 may display asecond representation of the second input on the display interface. Thesecond representation of the second input may include a secondindication of the second source. In some instances, the secondrepresentation of the second input is displayed simultaneously with therepresentation of the first input.

IV. Conclusion

Example embodiments have been described above. Those skilled in the artwill understand that changes and modifications can be made to thedescribed embodiments without departing from the true scope and spiritof the present invention, which is defined by the claims. For instance,although many of the example embodiments are described with respect to avehicle and a vehicle service tool, the person skilled in the art willunderstand that the vehicle referred to herein can be replaced by someother serviceable device such as, but not limited to, medical equipment,appliances (e.g., refrigerators or washing machines), or televisions. Insuch instance, the vehicle service tools described herein can bereferred to more simply as a “service tool.”

It should be understood that the arrangements described herein and/orshown in the drawings are for purposes of example only. As such, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that other arrangements and elements(e.g., machines, interfaces, functions, orders, and/or groupings offunctions) can be used instead, and some elements can be omittedaltogether according to the desired results. Furthermore, variousfunctions described and/or shown in the drawings as being performed byone or more elements can be carried out by a processor executingcomputer-readable program instructions or by a combination of hardware,firmware, and/or software. For purposes of this description, executionof CRPI contained in some computer-readable medium to perform somefunction can include executing all of the program instructions of thoseCRPI or only a portion of those CRPI.

The term “data” within this description can be used interchangeably withthe term “information” or similar terms, such as “content.” The datadescribed herein can be transmitted and received. As an example, anytransmission of the data described herein can occur directly from atransmitting device (e.g., a transmitter) to a receiving device (e.g., areceiver). As another example, any transmission of the data describedherein can occur indirectly from the transmitter to a receiver via oneof one or more intermediary network devices, such as an access point, anantenna, a base station, a hub, a modem, a relay, a router, a switch, orsome other network device. The transmission of any of the data describedherein can include transmitting the data over an air interface (e.g.,using radio signals (i.e., wirelessly)). The transmission of any of thedata described herein can include transmitting the data over a wire(e.g., a single wire, a twisted pair of wires, a fiber optic cable, acoaxial cable, a wiring harness, a power line, a printed circuit, a CAT5cable, or CAT6 cable). The wire can be referred to as a “conductor” orby another term. As an example, transmission of the data over theconductor can occur electrically or optically.

The data can represent various things such as objects and conditions.The objects and conditions can be mapped to a data structure (e.g., atable). A processor can refer to the data structure to determine whatobject or condition is represented by the data. As an example, the datareceived by a processor can represent a calendar date. The processor candetermine the calendar date by comparing the data to a data structurethat defines calendar dates. As another example, data received by aprocessor can represent a vehicle component. The processor can determinewhat type of vehicle component is represented by the data by comparingthe data to a structure that defines a variety of vehicle components.

While various aspects and embodiments are described herein, otheraspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art.The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes ofillustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scopebeing indicated by the claims, along with the full scope of equivalentsto which such claims are entitled. It is also to be understood that theterminology used herein for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting.

In this description, the articles “a,” “an,” and “the” are used tointroduce elements and/or functions of the example embodiments. Theintent of using those articles is that there is one or more of theintroduced elements and/or functions. The intent of using theconjunction “or” within a described list of at least two terms is toindicate any one of the listed terms or any combination of two or moreof the listed terms.

In this description, the intent of using the term “and/or” within a listof at least two elements or functions and the intent of using the terms“at least one of” and “one or more of” immediately preceding a list ofat least two components or functions is to cover each embodimentincluding a listed component or function independently and eachembodiment comprising a combination of the listed components orfunctions. For example, an embodiment described as comprising “A, B,and/or C,” or “at least one of A, B, and C,” or “one or more of A, B,and C” is intended to cover each of the following possible embodiments:(i) an embodiment comprising A, but not B and not C, (ii) an embodimentcomprising B, but not A and not C, (iii) an embodiment comprising C, butnot A and not B, (iv) an embodiment comprising A and B, but not C, (v)an embodiment comprising A and C, but not B, (v) an embodimentcomprising B and C, but not A, and (vi) an embodiment comprising A, B,and C. For the embodiments comprising component or function A, theembodiments can comprise one A or multiple A. For the embodimentscomprising component or function B, the embodiments can comprise one Bor multiple B. For the embodiments comprising component or function C,the embodiments can comprise one C or multiple C. The use of ordinalnumbers such as “first,” “second,” “third” and so on is to distinguishrespective elements rather than to denote a particular order of thoseelements unless the context of using those terms explicitly indicatesotherwise. The use of the symbol “$” as prefix to a number indicates thenumber is a hexadecimal number.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may thus relate to one of theenumerated example embodiments (EEEs) listed below.

EEE 1 is a method comprising: receiving, at a computing system, a firstinput from a first source during operation of a vehicle; responsive toreceiving the first input, determining a time of reception for the firstinput; receiving, at the computing system, a first set of parametersfrom the vehicle, wherein the first set of parameters correspond to afirst parameter identifier (PID); responsive to receiving the first setof parameters, determining a time of reception for each parameter of thefirst set of parameters; based on the time of reception for the firstinput and the time of reception for each parameter of the first set ofparameters, determining, by the computing system, a first temporalposition for a first indicator configured to represent the first inputon a graph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the firstPID; and displaying, by the computing system on a display interface, thegraph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID withthe first indicator in the first temporal position.

EEE 2 is the method of EEE 1, wherein receiving, at the computingsystem, the first input from the user interface during operation of thevehicle comprises: receiving a vocal input representing the first inputfrom a microphone; based on receiving the vocal input, determining textthat represents the vocal input using speech recognition; and storingthe determined text with the first input.

EEE 3 is the method of any one of EEE 1 and 2, further comprising:receiving, by the computing system, a selection of the first indicatorconfigured to represent the first input; and responsive to receiving theselection of the first indicator, displaying, by the computing system onthe display interface, the text that represents the vocal input.

EEE 4 is the method of EEE 3, wherein displaying the text thatrepresents the vocal input comprises: displaying the text thatrepresents the vocal input in a popup box.

EEE 5 is the method of EEE 3, wherein displaying the text thatrepresents the vocal input further comprises: providing an option thatenables editing the text that represents the vocal input; receiving oneor more edits to the text that represents the vocal input; anddisplaying the edited text.

EEE 6 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 5, further comprising: basedon determining the first temporal position for the first indicatorconfigured to represent the first input on the graph of the first set ofparameters corresponding to the first PID, determining a symbol thatcorresponds to the first indicator, wherein the symbol is based on thefirst source; and displaying, by the computing system on the displayinterface, the symbol relative to a graph view slider, wherein thesymbol is displayed at a position relative to the graph view slider thatis based on the first temporal position for the first indicator, andwherein the graph view slider is configurable to modify a view of thegraph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID.

EEE 7 is the method of EEE 6, further comprising: receiving, at thecomputing system, a selection of the symbol that corresponds to thefirst indicator; and responsive to the receiving the selection of thesymbol, modifying a view of the graph of the first set of parameterscorresponding to the first PID such that the view of the graph displaysa portion of the graph that includes the first indicator that representsthe first input.

EEE 8 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 7, wherein the firstindicator is displayed as a vertical cursor on the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID.

EEE 9 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 8, further comprising:determining, by the computing system, a threshold for the first PID;determining, by the computing system, a temporal position for a secondindicator that represents a parameter corresponding to the first PIDbreaching the threshold for the first PID; and wherein displaying, bythe computing system on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator in the first temporal position comprises: displaying the graphof the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with thesecond indicator and the first indicator arranged on the graph based ona temporal order that depends on the temporal position for the secondindicator and the first temporal position for the first indicator.

EEE 10 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 9, wherein receiving, at thecomputing system, the first input from the first source during operationof the vehicle comprises: receiving a touch input representing the firstinput from a touchscreen interface; and wherein responsive to receivingthe first input, determining the time of reception for the first inputcomprises: determining that the time of reception for the touch inputcorresponds to a given time when the touchscreen interface detects thetouch input.

EEE 11 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 10, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first input from the first source duringoperation of the vehicle comprises: receiving a button inputrepresenting the first input from an input interface of the computingsystem; and wherein responsive to receiving the first input, determiningthe time of reception for the first input comprises: determining thatthe time of reception for the button input corresponds to a given timewhen the input interface detects the button input.

EEE 12 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 11, wherein responsive toreceiving the first input, determining the time of reception for thefirst input comprises: determining that the time of reception for thefirst input corresponds to a given time when the computing systemreceives the first input from the first source.

EEE 13 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 12, wherein displaying, bythe computing system on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator in the first temporal position comprises: displaying the firstindicator in the first temporal position such that the first indicatoris displayed at a beginning of a subset of parameters of the first setof parameters that correspond to the first PID.

EEE 14 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 13, wherein displaying, bythe computing system on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the indicator inthe first temporal position comprises: displaying the indicator in thefirst temporal position such that the indicator is displayed at an endof a subset of parameters of the first set of parameters that correspondto the first PID.

EEE 15 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 14, wherein displaying, bythe computing system on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator in the first temporal position comprises: displaying the firstindicator in the first temporal position such that the first indicatoris displayed in between a subset of parameters of the first set ofparameters that correspond to the first PID.

EEE 16 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 15, wherein the computingsystem is coupled to the vehicle via a wired connection.

EEE 17 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 16, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first set of parameters from the vehiclecomprises: receiving the first set of parameters from an on-boarddiagnostics (OBD) reporting system of the vehicle operating in mode $01.

EEE 18 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 17, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first set of parameters from the vehiclecomprises: receiving the first set of parameters from an on-boarddiagnostics (OBD) reporting system of the vehicle operating in mode $02,wherein the first set of parameters includes sensor data recorded at agiven time of a detected fault of the vehicle.

EEE 19 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 18, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first input from the first source duringoperation of the vehicle comprises: receiving one or more thermal imagesfrom a thermal camera positioned to detect thermal radiation from acomponent of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle, and whereinresponsive to receiving the first input, determining the time ofreception for the first input comprises: determining that the time ofreception for the one or more thermal images correspond to a given timewhen the computing system receives a first image of the one or morethermal images.

EEE 20 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 19, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first input from the first source duringoperation of the vehicle comprises: receiving audio from an externalmicrophone positioned to measure a component of the vehicle duringoperation of the vehicle, and wherein responsive to receiving the firstinput, determining the time of reception for the first input comprises:determining that the time of reception for the audio corresponds to agiven time when the external microphone started recording the audio.

EEE 21 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 20, wherein receiving, atthe computing system, the first input from the first source duringoperation of the vehicle comprises: receiving a video from an externalcamera positioned within an orientation inside of the vehicle configuredto detect a driver of the vehicle during operation of the vehicle, andwherein responsive to receiving the first input, determining the time ofreception for the first input comprises: determining that the time ofreception for the video corresponds to a given time when the externalcamera initially started capturing the video.

EEE 22 is the method of any one of EEE 1 to 21, further comprising:receiving, at the computing system, a second input from a second sourceduring operation of the vehicle: responsive to receiving the secondinput, determining a time of reception for the second input; based onthe time of reception for the second input and the time of reception foreach parameter of the first set of parameters, determining, by thecomputing system, a second temporal position for a second indicatorconfigured to represent the second input on the graph of the first setof parameters corresponding to the first PID, and wherein displaying, bythe computing system on the display interface, the graph of the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the firstindicator in the first temporal position further comprises: displayingthe graph of the first set of parameters corresponding to the first PIDwith the first indicator in the first temporal position and the secondindicator in the second temporal position.

EEE 23 is the method of EEE 22, wherein the first input from the firstsource corresponds to a user input from a user interface, and whereinthe second input from the second source corresponds to sensor data froma sensor of the vehicle.

EEE 24 is a system comprising: a display interface; one or moreprocessors; a non-transitory computer readable medium; and programinstructions stored on the non-transitory computer readable medium andexecutable by the one or more processors to cause a set of functions tobe performed, the set of functions comprising a method in accordancewith any one of EEEs 1 to 23.

EEE 25 is the system of EEE 24, wherein the program instructions arefurther executable by the one or more processors to: receive a secondinput from a second source during operation of the vehicle; responsiveto receiving the second input, determine a time of reception for thesecond input; based on the time of reception for the first input, thetime of reception for the second input, and the time of reception foreach parameter of the first set of parameters, determine a secondtemporal position for a second indicator configured to represent thesecond input on the graph of the first set of parameters correspondingto the first PID; and display, on the display interface, the graph ofthe first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with thefirst indicator in the first temporal position and the second indicatorin the second temporal position.

EEE 26 is a computer readable medium storing program instructions, thatwhen executed by one or more processors, cause a set functions to beperformed, the set of functions comprising a method in accordance withany one of EEEs 1 to 25.

EEE 27 is a method comprising: receiving, at a computing system from afirst source operatively connected to the computing system, a firstinput captured by the first source during operation of a vehicle,wherein the first input corresponds to a particular system of thevehicle; responsive to receiving the first input, determining a firsttime range for the first input; receiving, at the computing system froma second source operatively connected to the computing system, a secondinput captured by the second source during operation of the vehicle,wherein the second input corresponds to the particular system of thevehicle, and wherein the second source differs from the first source;responsive to receiving the second input, determining a second timerange for the second input; receiving, at the computing system, a firstset of parameters from the vehicle, wherein the first set of parameterscorrespond to a first parameter identifier (PID) associated withoperation of the particular system of the vehicle during a third timerange, and wherein the third time range comprises the first time rangeand the second time range; determining a graph representing the firstset of parameters corresponding to the first PID associated withoperation of the particular system of the vehicle during the third timerange and a set of indicators, wherein the set of indicators includes afirst indicator that represents at least a portion of the first timerange of the first input and a second indicator that represents at leasta portion of the second time range of the second input; and displaying,by the computing system on a display interface, the graph representingthe first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with the setof indicators.

EEE 28 is the method of EEE 27, wherein receiving the first inputcaptured by the first source during operation of the vehicle includesreceiving an indication of the particular system of the vehicle.

EEE 29 is the method of EEE 28, further comprising: responsive toreceiving the first input, transmitting, by the computing system, asignal to the second source to trigger capture of the second input,wherein the signal includes the indication of the particular system ofthe vehicle.

EEE 30 is the method of EEE 29, wherein receiving the second inputcaptured by the second source includes receiving the indication of theparticular system of the vehicle.

EEE 31 is the method of any one of EEE 27 to EEE 30, wherein receivingthe first set of parameters from the vehicle comprises: receiving thefirst set of parameters from the vehicle during operation of thevehicle.

EEE 32 is the method of any one of EEE 27 to EEE 31, wherein the secondsource captures the second input in response to the first sourcecapturing the first input.

EEE 33 is the method of any one of EEE 27 to EEE 32, wherein the firstsource is a temperature sensor; and wherein the second source is athermal camera.

EEE 34 is a system comprising: a display interface and a computingsystem configured to: receive, from a first source operatively connectedto the computing system, a first input captured by the first sourceduring operation of a vehicle, wherein the first input corresponds to aparticular system of the vehicle; responsive to receiving the firstinput, determine a first time range for the first input; receive, from asecond source operatively connected to the computing system, a secondinput captured by the second source during operation of the vehicle,wherein the second input corresponds to the particular system of thevehicle, and wherein the second source differs from the first source;responsive to receiving the second input, determine a second time rangefor the second input; receive a first set of parameters from thevehicle, wherein the first set of parameters correspond to a firstparameter identifier (PID) associated with operation of the particularsystem of the vehicle during a third time range, and wherein the thirdtime range comprises the first time range and the second time range;determine a graph representing the first set of parameters correspondingto the first PID associated with operation of the particular system ofthe vehicle during the third time range and a set of indicators, whereinthe set of indicators includes a first indicator that represents atleast a portion of the first time range of the first input and a secondindicator that represents at least a portion of the second time range ofthe second input; and display, on the display interface, the graph ofthe first set of parameters corresponding to the first PID with thefirst indicator and the second indicator.

EEE 35 is the system of EEE 34, wherein receiving the first inputcaptured by the first source during operation of the vehicle includesreceiving an indication of the particular system of the vehicle.

EEE 36 is the system of EEE 35, wherein the computing system is furtherconfigured to: transmit a signal to the second source to trigger captureof the second input based on receiving the first input, wherein thesignal includes the indication of the particular system of the vehicle.

EEE 37 is the system of EEE 36, wherein receiving the second inputcaptured by the second source includes receiving the indication of theparticular system of the vehicle.

EEE 38 is the system of any one of EEE 34 to EEE 37, wherein the secondsource captures the second input in response to the first sourcecapturing the first input.

EEE 39 is the system of any one of EEE 34 to EEE 38, wherein the secondsource captures the second input in response to the first sourcecapturing the first input.

EEE 40 is the system of any one of EEE 34 to EEE 39, wherein the firstsource is a microphone system, and wherein the second source is aportable camera.

EEE 41 is the system of any one of EEE 34 to EEE 40, wherein the firstsource is a user interface; and wherein the second source is a vehiclesensor.

EEE 42 is a computer readable medium storing program instructions, thatwhen executed by one or more processors, cause a set functions to beperformed, the set of functions comprising a method in accordance withany one of EEEs 34 to 41.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: obtaining, at a computingdevice, audio data received at a microphone while a vehicle traverses aroute, wherein the microphone is communicatively coupled to thecomputing device; detecting, by the computing device, a vocal input inthe audio data; based on detecting the vocal input, generating audioinformation that assigns a time of reception of the vocal input by themicrophone to the vocal input; receiving, at the computing device andfrom the vehicle, parameters corresponding to a parameter identifier(PID) representing operation of a vehicle system while the vehicletraverses the route; and displaying, by the computing device and on adisplay interface, a graph conveying the parameters corresponding to thePID representing the operation of the vehicle system while the vehicletraverses the route, wherein an indicator is positioned on the graphbased the time of reception of the vocal input.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: detecting a selection of the indicator positionedon the graph; and based on detecting the selection of the indicator,displaying the audio information on the display interface.
 3. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: based on detecting the vocal input,determining text that represents the vocal input using a speechrecognition technique; and wherein generating the audio informationfurther comprises: generating the audio information to further includethe text that represents the vocal input.
 4. The method of claim 3,further comprising: detecting a selection of the indicator positioned onthe graph; and based on detecting the selection of the indicator,displaying the text on the display interface.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein displaying the text on the display interface comprises:displaying the text in a popup box positioned proximate the graph,wherein the popup box includes the time of reception of the vocal input.6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: displaying an option toedit the text that represents the vocal input.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein detecting the vocal input in the audio data comprises: detectinga first vocal input and a second vocal input in the audio data; andwherein generating the audio information further comprises: generatingthe audio information to assign (i) a first time of reception of thefirst vocal input by the microphone to the first vocal input and (ii) asecond time of reception of the second vocal input by the microphone tothe second vocal input; and wherein displaying the graph conveying theparameters corresponding to the PID comprises: displaying the graph witha first indicator and a second indicator positioned on the graph,wherein the first indicator represents the first vocal input and ispositioned on the graph based on the first time of reception of thefirst vocal input, and wherein the second indicator represents thesecond vocal input and is positioned on the graph based on the secondtime of reception of the second vocal input.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: monitoring, using a global positioning system (GPS),respective locations for the vehicle while the vehicle traverses theroute; associating the audio data received at the microphone withrespective locations for the vehicle; and wherein generating the audioinformation further comprises: generating the audio information toinclude a location of the vehicle.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereindisplaying the graph conveying the parameters corresponding to the PIDcomprises: displaying a vehicle data parameter (VDP) line graph thatrepresents the parameters corresponding to the PID; and positioning theindicator on the VDP line graph based on the time of reception of thevocal input.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving aninput from a sensor; and wherein displaying the graph conveying theparameters corresponding to the PID representing the operation of thevehicle system comprises: displaying a first indicator and a secondindicator on the graph, wherein the first indicator corresponds to theindicator and represents the audio information, and wherein the secondindicator represents the input from the sensor.
 11. The method of claim1, further comprising: based on capturing audio data received at themicrophone, triggering a camera to capture one or more images.
 12. Themethod of claim 11, further comprising: based on the audio data,determining a direction of a source of the audio data; and whereintriggering the camera to capture one or more images comprises: causingthe camera to capture one or more images in the direction of the sourceof the audio data.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein causing thecamera to capture one or more images in the direction of the source ofthe audio data comprises: causing the camera to capture one or moreimages of an interior of the vehicle.
 14. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining the time of reception for the vocal input basedon when the microphone completed receiving the vocal input.
 15. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: determining the time of receptionfor the vocal input based on when the microphone initially startedreceiving the vocal input.
 16. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: coupling the computing device to the vehicle, wherein thecomputing device is configured to operate as a vehicle diagnostic tool.17. A system comprising: a display interface; a microphone; and acomputing device configured to: obtain audio data received at themicrophone while a vehicle traverses a route, wherein the microphone iscommunicatively coupled to the computing device; detect a vocal input inthe audio data; based on detecting the vocal input, generate audioinformation that assigns a time of reception of the vocal input by themicrophone to the vocal input; receive, from the vehicle, parameterscorresponding to a parameter identifier (PID) representing operation ofa vehicle system while the vehicle traverses the route; and display, onthe display interface, a graph conveying the parameters corresponding tothe PID representing the operation of the vehicle system while thevehicle traverses the route, wherein an indicator is positioned on thegraph based the time of reception of the vocal input.
 18. The system ofclaim 17, wherein the computing device is further configured to: basedon detecting the vocal input, determine text that represents the vocalinput using a speech recognition technique; generate the audioinformation to include the text that represents the vocal input; andbased on detecting a selection of the indicator, causing the vocal inputto play using an audio output.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein thecomputing device is a smart phone.
 20. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having stored therein instructions executable by one ormore processors to cause a computing system to perform functionscomprising: obtaining audio data received at a microphone while avehicle traverses a route; detecting a vocal input in the audio data;based on detecting the vocal input, generating audio information thatassigns a time of reception of the vocal input by the microphone to thevocal input; receiving, from the vehicle, parameters corresponding to aparameter identifier (PID) representing operation of a vehicle systemwhile the vehicle traverses the route; and displaying, on a displayinterface, a graph conveying the parameters corresponding to the PIDrepresenting the operation of the vehicle system while the vehicletraverses the route, wherein an indicator is positioned on the graphbased the time of reception of the vocal input.